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Lake Forest sports to halt in event of strike
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LAKE FOREST — If the Lake Forest High School teachers and school board do not reach an agreement and the teachers strike, athletic competition will stop Wednesday and will not restart until the strike ends, Lake Forest High School’s Board of Education announced Tuesday.
“We were recently informed that the Illinois High School Association will strictly enforce the rules regarding interscholastic contests. This ruling prohibits us from participating in athletic competition if the teachers go on strike,” the board of education said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
The teachers made athletic competition an issue when they filed four unfair labor practice charges against the District 115 School Board with the State of Illinois Monday.
The district will make every attempt to reschedule contests missed due to a work stoppage, the board’s statement said.
Lake Forest High School’s 150 teachers are set to picket as early as 7:30 a.m. Wednesday should an agreement not be reached beforehand, said Lake Forest Education Association spokesman and LFHS teacher Chuck Gress.
LFEA and school board negotiators are expected to meet tonight following the regular Board of Education meeting.
“We remain hopeful that a settlement can be reached in negotiations tonight. We will continue to negotiate after the 12:01 a.m. deadline if there is a reasonable expectation of a settlement,” Gress said.
Students and parents should look to the school website, www.lfhs.org, as the school board will post detailed information there and reach parents through the LFHS E-Newsletter as soon as official notification of a strike is reached. The district also will send an instant alert message at approximately 6:30 a.m. in either case.
Should the teachers strike, the 1,718 students from Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Knollwood will not be expected to attend school until Monday. The building, however, will remain open to all students between 7:50 a.m. and 3:10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. There will be no bus service, but lunch will be available.
College representative visits scheduled for Wednesday will continue and the resource center will be open and staffed with representatives from CROYA (Committee Representing Our Young Adults), Lake Forest Recreation and nurses from Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital.
Gress said the LFEA is asking parents of high school, elementary and middle school students to attend the school board’s meeting at 7 p.m. tonight at the LFHS West Campus, 300 S. Waukegan Road, where printed material outlining the teachers’ position will be distributed to attendees as they enter.
The LFEA, however, will not be present, Gress said.
“It’s between the parents and the board to have a discussion,” he said.
The two sides disagree on wages, salaries and a two-tier pay system the school board has proposed that will lower the pay scale for future teachers.
