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Teachers tell Waukegan board to honor preapproved Idaho State graduate credits as more than 50 seek lane changes
Summary
Dozens of district teachers told the Waukegan CUSD 60 board they were preapproved by HR to use Idaho State University graduate coursework for salary lane advancement but were later denied pay or credit; speakers urged the board to honor the contract and resolve a grievance now before the board.
Dozens of teachers and union members urged the Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education on March 17 to honor previously approved lane-change credits from Idaho State University and restore pay and salary schedule advancement they say the district retroactively refused.
"All we want is that the board of education and the community to know that we are asking the district to follow the rules that they agreed to," said Justin Simon, a union member, who said more than 50 employees have been affected after the district declined to accept the Idaho State credits for the October 2025 pay adjustment.
Beth Paglia, a lead teacher and union member, described taking coursework intended to help students — including youth mental health and intervention strategies — and said she was told in writing and by HR that the classes were approved. "If all required paperwork was submitted by the September deadline, would we be paid at the appropriate rate on October 31st? The response, yes," Paglia said. When pay did not arrive, she said, staff learned from the union — not the district — that credits would not be accepted.
Multiple other teachers — including Melissa Silverman, Ashley Bone and Wendle Warren Pierce II — delivered similar accounts, saying they paid for or invested time in graduate coursework in good faith and that the district’s apparent change of practice undermines trust and contract integrity. "It is unfair to change the rules of the game," Silverman said.
Several commenters noted the district historically accepted credits for lane advancement from a variety of sources and asked the board to explain why Idaho State credits were being treated differently now. One speaker noted the union has filed a grievance on the matter.
Board members acknowledged the seriousness of the complaints and asked for clarification about funding and contract language. At the close of public comment, the board voted to return to closed session to deliberate legal matters and collective bargaining issues related to the grievance. Mr. Riddle moved and Miss Lensing seconded the motion to re-enter closed session; the motion carried on roll call.
Why it matters: Salary-lane advancements affect teacher pay and retention. Teachers said the denied credits cost them personal funds and expected compensation; the board will now deliberate the grievance in closed session under exceptions to the Illinois Open Meetings Act that allow confidential discussion of litigation and collective bargaining.
What’s next: The board moved to deliberate in closed session on the matter rather than schedule a separate meeting. The union and affected teachers told the board they expect a timely remedy and called for the board to uphold the terms of the collective-bargaining agreement.
Quotes in this report come from public-comment remarks recorded at the March 17 Waukegan CUSD 60 board meeting and are attributed to speakers who introduced themselves on the record.
