Union Works 

Engage, Educate, Empower: The Heart of our Union
BFT Teachers' Council Vice President Thomas Gallaher shares good news with the school board and district administration.

Local 434 in Action: Celebrating Teaching, Learning, and Leadership – May 2026

May gave us countless reminders of the incredible work happening across District 201 and the impact our educators have on students every day.


This month highlighted hands-on learning, student achievement, and meaningful connections both inside and outside the classroom. Students built dog houses for community organizations, earned awards in theater, cooking, science, and athletics, explored future careers through apprenticeships and alumni connections, and participated in learning experiences that extended far beyond classroom walls.


We also celebrated the strong sense of community that exists across our schools. From Teacher Appreciation Week and Mental Health Awareness activities to the Life Skills Spring Dance and collaborative events across campuses, our staff continued creating spaces where students feel supported, valued, and inspired.


These stories reflect more than accomplishments — they reflect the dedication, creativity, and commitment of Local 434 members who go above and beyond for students every day.


Thank you to everyone who continues to share the amazing work happening in our schools. Together, we continue telling the story of the positive impact our members make each day. Take a look at May's Good News here!

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Several of our members have already signed up to volunteer, but there are several different projects, and several spots available. Read on to find out more about how you can give a little back to our community, too. We hope to see you there!
 
"Belleville Helping Belleville is an annual, one-day event during which people from Belleville take on volunteer projects—city wide—to help those in need from our community. The September 12, 2015 project theme is children. The BHB Committee prioritized projects that most closely aligned with the theme and will directly/indirectly impact children, teens, schools, etc."

Find out more and sign up at www.bellevillehelpingbelleville.com
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"Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation Wednesday making appropriations for education in Illinois. The Republican governor's signature means Illinois schools will be able to open on time this fall ... despite an ongoing budget stalemate in Springfield.Schools not having the money to operate had been a worry, given Gov. Bruce Rauner's condemnation of the spending plan passed by Democratic legislators.

It isn't anymore. Democrats' budget is broken into some 20 different pieces.  And Rauner has signed one of them -- the bill that funds education."


Read more...

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Several community members spoke at the most recent board meeting,  expressing concerns about the possible changes in the athletic departments at both East and West. A proposal that would have reduced the hours the athletic directors were available to perform their duties throughout the week  was recently rescinded.

Community member Charlie Woodford said, “That’s just not worth it for all the work that the AD’s have to do. I think people have a misconception about what’s going on here because they’ve worked together for so long. Everybody knows what everybody’s job is. They just work like a well-oiled machine.”

Mr. Woodford went on to say that the time allotted under the original proposal wouldn’t be enough time for the AD’s and assistant AD’s to perform their duties.

“The teachers union and the administration agreed to rescind [the proposal],” said Superintendent Dr. Dosier.

Dr. Dosier also spoke of the district’s financial woes, saying “There’s not a lot of good news right now with our finances … I’ve had the misfortune of coming in at a time when we’ve had to make cuts. I’ve not made one cut or not recommended one cut that people have been happy with. My focus ... is about impacting students the least. We do not want to talk about having higher class sizes until we absolutely have to. We want to make as many cuts that don’t impact the classroom as possible before we go to classroom cuts.”

Assistant Superintendant Brian Mentzer said the education fund is currently operating at -4.752 million. “It’s hard to celebrate that,” said Mr. Mentzer, “but it’s operating at less of a deficit than it was a month prior.” The operating and maintenance fund is also showing a negative balance, operating at a deficit of 1.259 million. The overall aggregate balance according to Mentzer is 5.915 million. “The good news,” said Mentzer, “is that we still have some reserves. We have not had to access our line of credit yet. We are hopeful that the state will come through on the mandated categorical payments.” The state of Illinois currently owes the district 2.1 million dollars.

The district’s recently-amended budget will be on display in the district office until the June board meeting.

The district also approved the purchase of new textbooks for an applied mathematics course. The total purchase cost for the 80 textbooks came in at $9,328.61.

Several retirements were announced, but no new teaching positions were filled.

The board recognized West English teacher Nick Johnson and East administrative assistant Barb Hermann for their outstanding service. The board also recognized two students for earning the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest advancement rank in the Boy Scouts, and three students for their acceptance into various military academies.


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Apparently a lot of our members are itching to do some professional development over the summer. Because of the overwhelming response to the district's offer to purchase 40 books for those interested in a little professional development this summer—over 40 teachers at East signed up on the first day, and West's list is growing almost as fast—the union has agreed to match the district and pay for the purchase of another 40 books! Copies of Ten Things That Matter from Assessment to Grading by Tom Schimmer will be available to the first 80 members who sign up, but we're encouraging our members to share them with your fellow members once you're finished.  From what we've heard, the book is a lot better than it actually sounds. :)

BFT's executive council has been discussing the option of providing even more professional development for our members in the future, so be on the lookout for more opportunities next year.



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Here are some choice quotes from the ruling:

"Our economy is and has always been subject to fluctuations, sometimes very extreme fluctuations," Karmeier said.

"The General Assembly may find itself in crisis, but it is a crisis which other public pension systems managed to avoid and… it is a crisis for which the General Assembly itself is largely responsible," 

"The financial challenges facing state and local government in Illinois are well known and significant. In ruling as we have today, we do not mean to minimize the gravity of the state’s problems or the magnitude of the difficulty facing our elected representatives."

"It is our obligation, however, just as it is theirs, to ensure that the law is followed. That is true at all times. It is especially important in times of crisis when, as this case demonstrates, even clear principles and long-standing precedent are threatened. Crisis is not an excuse to abandon the rule of law." 

Read more on the Chicago Tribune's website...

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On Friday, May 15th we will hold our annual election from 7:30am to 4:00pm. (According to the constitution by-laws, this election must take place the day after the spring general membership meeting because last minute nominations will be taken from the floor at the meeting.)

The ballot box will be located in the main office on the East campus and in the production center on the West campus.

We will be electing officers for the following positions:
  • President Elect
  • Vice-President
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Parliamentarian
  • East Campus Representative
  • West Campus Representative

If you are interested in running for one of these positions, please email Jeremy Witt jwitt@bths201.org on the West Campus or Shawn Coughlin scoughlin@bths201.org on the East Campus by Thursday, May 7

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At the school board's most recent meeting, the board approved a resolution to fill several positions in the district. Congratulations to BFT members Katie Hoerner, East's new social studies department chair; Lee Meyer, West's new PE, health, and drivers education department chair; and Jenny Hotze-Wilton, East's new world language department chair!

The board also approved the hiring of a new assistant principal on the East campus. 

In other business, the board adopted a new textbook for the forensics classes, approved next year's calendar, and approved Tom Shimmer as next year's opening day keynote speaker, who will conduct what will surely be a riveting discussion on assessments.

Finally, BFT's President Cyndi Oberle-Dahm addressed the board to garner support for House Bill 3428, which would mandate that all Illinois state schools award college credit for any student who scores a three or higher on an advanced placement exam.

See the meeting agenda.
See a copy of the most recently posted meeting minutes.
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Belleville West students celebrated William Shakespeare’s birthday on Friday, April 17.  The tenth annual BW Shakespeare Festival began in the school’s courtyard with scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, contemporary poetry inspired by Shakespeare, choral and instrumental music, and an updated version of Romeo and Juliet by members of Harambee.  Students then moved to the library, where they tasted food based on Renaissance recipes, learned about science in Shakespeare’s time, created screen-printed images with members of the art department, studied Elizabethan weaponry, competed in trivia challenges about Shakespeare’s work, and played traditional Renaissance games. ~J. Lodle
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District Budget and Finances Report (April 2015) 

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State Revenue: 
Governor Rauner imposed pro-rated cuts this week on mandated categorical payments to Illinois school Districts.  These categorical payments include Special Education and Transportation monies for the District.  Instead of paying the mandated 100% due to the District, the state is pro-rating these at 95%, which will result in the District having to adjust some budgeting figures to cover the cost of buses, out of District special education placements, and special education personnel.  An estimated cost of this pro-ration will be about $101,000 for the District for the quarter.  This is supposed to be a pro-ration that will help the state come at budget for the rest of FY2015.  It is yet to be determined if future mandated categorical payments will also be pro-rated, and, if so, at what amount as the budget crisis continues to unfold.  The state has also placed the District on an Early Warning list about finances, despite the fact that we are healthier than many surrounding Districts.  As of 4/14/2015, the State of Illinois owes District 201 $3,619,498.86 in General State Aid. 

Local Revenue: 
Saint Clair County has completed the process of reassessment of property for 2015, and the new equalized assessed valuation (EAV) for the taxable property has dropped by 1.8318%.  The EAV is the “taxable property value” that the District levies its tax rate on for local revenue.  Loosely speaking, the EAV reflects the local “wealth” of the District, and a reduction will result in less local income for the District for the coming fiscal year.  For example, the US Census Bureau reports that the median home price in St. Clair County is $123,700.  The current EAV is taxed at 1.97%, which means the District gets, on average, $2,436.89 in revenue from each house.  With the reduced assessment, this brings the taxable home value down to $121,343.  At the current tax rate, District 201 will get $2390.46 in taxes, a difference of $46.42 for a house at the new assessed value.  The question for the board will be whether to abate (hold the tax rate the same), which they have done for years or to implement an increase.  The abatement will cost the District money while the increase will put more fiscal pressure on local homeowners.  So far the District has not needed to use the $6 million line of credit approved by the board, but this seems likely to occur soon.  The good news is that the District has such a high credit rating that there were over fifty banks competing for the line of credit. 

TIF Districts: 
In addition, the District is still in negotiation with Belleville and Fairview Heights for approval of TIF Districts in both communities.  TIF Districts reduce property taxes for new builders to lure them into communities, but this also lowers the taxing value of the EAV for school Districts and other taxing bodies.  District 201 is currently in negotiations, in conjunction with other taxing bodies such as Grant and William Holiday, to approve the TIF with a rebate to Districts as a portion of the revenue generated by any future construction.  Both TIF negotiations are ongoing. 

Capital Projects: 
The District is beginning to look at some upcoming capital projects at East and West.  These may be done though lease-purchase, an arrangement in which the District will lease equipment or supplies with payments going toward purchases.  This allows the District to use funds other than the Education Fund to make purchases.  Currently, lease-purchase funds have been used to upgrade technology on both campuses, as well as the purchase of the Goalby property next to Belleville West (this lease will be paid off in July).  The next focus will be exploring the possibility of using lease-purchase funds to fix the main parking lot at Belleville East High School as well as the tracks on both campuses. The Belleville East track is 25 years old. The Belleville West track, while only around 10 years old, has been inspected and found to be in need of immediate repair to address degradation. 

Strength in unity, power in solidarity.


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Editor:

Lannette Story
Local 434 Teachers' Council Secretary. Educator in District #201 since 2012.

Contributors:

Lucas Spriggs
Lucas Spriggs is the author of the Union Works newsletter, which includes posts in three series: "Get Organized," "Get Represented," and "Get Informed."

​Ashley Mims
Local 434 Teachers' Council President, former Secretary/PR Chair. Educator in District #201 since 2011.