Well, you are simply going to have to raise property taxes. That sucks but there is no other choice. It makes more sense and is more fiscally transparent to have the actual employer making the pension contributions than a state government run by a pariament of whores. It will also force school boards (and long-suffering southland taxpayers) to accept the full consequences of the decisions they have made about staffing levels and salaries over the years. As it is school districts only contribute about 1/2 of 1% toward their teachers pensions each year, while private employers contribute 6.2% to a MUCH less generous social security system.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/5679128-418/illinois-teacher-and-administrator-salaries.html?appSession=751293825249530

Seems to me you might be able to find a million here: Lots of administrators and teachers getting 8, 9 and 10% raises in the midst of a recession. Why is the only option to threaten our kid's educations?

No disrespect to any teacher or public employee, but I can think of no entity worse than the State of Illinois to run a pension plan. Except for maybe the State of California. Each teacher should have their own individual retirement account that they monitor themselves. And we want Government running our healthcare? I don't!

I suggest combining the principal and superintendent positions at HF.

if we have to end up paying retirements out of municipal budgets we are in big trouble. Im afraid municipalities can go bankrupt and it will be like United Airlines pilots union. They got their retirements cut in half because of settlements.

How about we leave all the school employees alone and start taxing individuals and companies who have the money? Every single school employee works very hard to ensure academic success. By the way, the duties of the superintendent and principal are very different. Both positions are time consuming and cannot be done by one person. Every single employee in that school works hard and deserves better pay and a better pension. That goes for any school district. Schools educate people and educated people think freely for themselves. We cannot afford to have a nation of uneducated individuals.

I'm proud of the Homewood schools and HF. They are excellent schools and I'm glad I was given the opportunity to attend said schools. I'm willing to vote for any property tax increase to keep our schools in good standing.

We are fools to accept the chicanery! Many school districts simply will go bankrupt and others, like ours, that support poorer communities will be put under severe financial stress. This is yet another indirect and regressive tax benefit(t)ing wealthier (north and west side) school districts!! More honest would be to go completely charter OR eliminate local school funding and pay for it at the state level with an EQUAL 1.0% statewide tax for education. Have I missed something??? A flat tax...... 1.0%, every house, equally, all over the state tax isn't right? Why not? ALL children covered in proportion to the value and level of the state's land that you own. Trust me, the North Shore does NOT want that. All of a sudden, that 4,000,000 million dollar home gets REALLY expensive and other communities becomes attractive. That is the dirty little secret about why we pay more in income taxes but not property taxes!!! Are we valuing our children equally or shall we continue to move behind our little fences an enclaves? Oh, by the way, lest I sound like a diehard liberal, this is the REPUBLICAN plan used in Indiana where citizens became tired of the subsidized low tax rates of wealthy homeowners on Lake Michigan!! Who is being subsidizing with "pension reform"??!!!!

2008 Murray; Laura L Homewood-Flossmoor Chsd 233 (60422-2299) $21,999.40
That number is how much the the RETIRED Superintendent of HF 233 makes PER MONTH.....