D15, Teachers Agree on New 10-Year Contract

Teachers at Community Consolidated School District 15 have a new 10-year contract after the agreement reached by the union and district earlier this week was approved Wednesday, the district says.

The new contract includes annual salary increases for most teachers that will average about 2.5 percent for the first four years of the deal and about 4 percent for the remaining six years, according to a D15 press release. These pay hikes are estimated to average 0.9 percent annually over the contract, which is less than the 1.9 percent Consumer Price Index 10-year average, the release stated.

According to the Daily Herald, the agreement will require art, music and PE teachers to increase their workload, and it includes incentives for teachers who retire early.

Officials on both sides of the negotiating table credited reaching a consensus over the agreement on taking a cooperative approach.

“With so much uncertainty at the state level, it just made sense to come to the table with a different mindset,” Scott Woldman, union president of the Classroom Teachers' Council, stated in the district release. “Instead of approaching negotiations as adversaries, we did so as partners, examining all the challenges facing the District and coming up with solutions that met the needs of all parties, including students, teachers, parents, and community members.”

“We’re pleased that this agreement, and the manner in which it was negotiated, will allow us to keep the focus where it should be—producing world class learners by building a connected learning community,” D15 board President Peggy Babcock stated in the release.