District 304 Teachers Strike Continues; No School Wednesday

District 304 teachers will remain on strike Wednesday, which means students will have their second day in a row off from school. The decision to strike came early Tuesday after a 7.5-hour meeting, which ended at 1:30 a.m. with the Geneva Education Association walking out of a negotiation session, according to an early morning news release from District 304. The union, which represents the approximately 450 District 304 teachers, announced Saturday a strike would begin on Dec. 4 if a tentative agreement was not reached.

All District 304 schools were closed Tuesday and will remain closed Wednesday, school officials said. No additional negotiation sessions have been scheduled at this point.

The strike comes after months of disagreements regarding District 304 teacher contracts. Contract talks began on February 15, and the District 304 teachers started the school year without a contract.

"From the very beginning of these negotiations our association has maintained a commitment to reach an agreement that puts the district's 5,800 students first; promotes a high quality education; is fair for the teachers; and is fiscally responsible to the community of Geneva," Kevin Gannon said in October. "We have been working to find common ground with the school board. We know the district has the financial ability to pay our teachers wages that are competitive with other districts of our caliber."

The teacher's union is seeking a step and lane schedule for teachers, which is a model that helps determine their salary and raises based on their education level and years of experience.

The District 304 school board is working to set up its next negotiation session while waiting for the teacher's union to respond to its most recent offer, District 304 officials said.

That offer, school officials said, "provides more than $5.5 million or a 17.69 percent increase, in new money for teacher compensation over the life of the proposed four-year contract."

Specifically, during each of year of the proposed four-year contract, the most recent proposal would provide each teacher with salary increases in the following ranges:

• 2018-19: 3.5-6.3% ($2,549-$3,481)
• 2019-20: 3.4-5.8% ($2,480-$3,395)
• 2020-21: 3.3-5.4% ($2,409-$3,308)
• 2021-22: 2.7-4.6% ($2,129-$2,765)

Gannon said early Tuesday the union's decision to strike was a difficult one to make. But the union said the board's salary model "continues to be an untested model that no other school district in Kane County uses to compensate its educators," he said.

"Our members and the community have been very clear that a traditional step and lane salary schedule that determines salary based on experience and education is important to them," Gannon said. "The board’s latest offer does not meet that expectation."

"Our educators want nothing more than to be in their classrooms instead of out on a picket line. This is our last resort," Gannon said.

More via the District 304 website and the GEA Facebook Group

PHOTO VIA SHUTTERSTOCK