Cary District 26 School Board, Teacher's Union Reach Tentative Agreement on Contract

The Cary School District 26 board of education and the District 26 teacher's union has reached a tentative agreement to amend and extend their contract, according to a news release.

The school board and Cary Education Association released the following joint statement on Tuesday:

The Board of Education of Cary Community Consolidated School District No. 26 and the Cary Education Association (“CEA”), the teachers union which represents Cary 26 school teachers, announced today that the union and Board have reached a tentative agreement on amending and extending the 2014-17 collective bargaining agreement through 2018. The current three-year contract would have concluded at the end of next year, 2016-17.

With this one-year extension, there will now be two years remaining at the end of this school year, 2016-17 and 2017-18.

The Agreement calls for salary increases of 3.0% in 2016-2017 and a 2.5% in 2017-2018. The Agreement also calls for a one-time lump sum stipend of 0.5% of the teacher’s salary in 2017-18.

The insurance program at the District will remain unchanged. The Board will continue to pay 50% of the cost of single coverage and a sliding scale from 10% to 40% of the family premium depending on years of service.

The Agreement also continues to provide an end-of-career 5% increase in a retiree’s last year of employment and allows the Board to limit participation in the Illinois Teacher Early Retirement Program to one teacher a year.

“This was truly a collaborative effort between the Board and the CEA leadership team. The Board is confident that this new agreement is affordable and ensures the District continues to live within its financial means” said Board President Scott Coffey. “This also provides the District with known expenses over the next two years as it works to navigate its way through the unstable and uncertain financial indecisions at the State level. Both the CEA leadership team and the Board came together in a positive effort to reach this agreement. We have great teachers in this District and I believe this is a win-win agreement for all of us.”

The Presidents of the CEA, Annette Bear and Lori Charbonneau stated, "The Cary Education Association and the District 26 Board of Education agreed to come together to explore opening the 2014-17 Negotiated Agreement in order to provide an increase in salary for the District 26 teachers. This joint effort resulted in a positive outcome and demonstrates the two parties’ ability to work together successfully."

The Cary Education Association voted and ratified the agreement this past Friday, April 8th. The Board expects to formally vote on the contract agreement at a Special Board Meeting to be held after their Finance Committee meeting on Monday, April 18th. The Special Board meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.