Schools
District 46 Strike Could Start As Early as Thursday
Contract negotiations will resume on Tuesday as district officials and union representatives work to come to a resolution.
GRAYSLAKE, IL —District 46 officials and the unions that represents the school district's teachers and support staff will head back to the drawing board on Tuesday as they continue to try to come to a consensus and avoid a strike. Pay raises remain the main sticking point in the negotiations and the unions filed an intent to strike, which could occur as early as Thursday.
Last week, the District 46 Board of Education, Grayslake Federation of Teachers and Grayslake PSRP, which is the union for D46's support staff, met with a federal mediator.
"Although the intent to strike is still standing, all parties have agreed to continue to negotiate in good faith toward the goal of reaching an agreement," according to a joint statement issued Wednesday by District 46 officials and union representatives.
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Matthew LaPierre, a staff representative for Lake County Federation of Teachers Local 504, told the Daily Herald last week that a strike "seems more likely than not."
The unions and district official have not yet been able to agree on the amount teachers and staff should receive for raises. The school board is proposing a "Tier 1 "teacher with 18 years of experience or less, and all support staff, receive a 3.2 percent raise over the next two years. Teachers with over 19 years of experience—a "Tier 2" teacher—should get a 3 percent raise, according to the district's proposal.
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Meanwhile, the union is proposing its Tier teachers, and all support staff, receive a 4.6 percent increase and Tier 2 teachers should get a 4.1 percent increase over the next two years.
The school board's proposal would cost the school district $2.252 million over the next two years while the union proposal would cost $3.229 million.
Over the past five years, Tier 1 teachers have, on average, received a 3.2 percent pay increase and Tier 2 teachers have gotten a 2.2 percent salary boost per year. Support staff has received, on average, has gotten a 3.18 percent increase, according to information posted on the school district's website.
The parties have a four-year contract that began in 2017 and ends in 2021, but they agreed to meet this year to negotiate financial items for the remaining two years of the agreement.
“Two years ago, the District and Union agreed that the financial future was uncertain,” said Grayslake Teacher Union President Michele Beye. “And even though the District is in much better financial shape than it was two years ago, they are proposing even less than they did then.”
But now, union representatives say the district is now in a better spot financially and should be able to offer pay raises, according to the article.
More via the Community Consolidated School District 46 website
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