District 112 Describes Sticking Points In Teachers Negotiations

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — More than one month after the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement, teachers and district representatives in North Shore School District 112 met Monday in a fourth mediation session with a federally assigned mediator.

The terms and conditions of the expired agreement will remain in place until a new one can be negotiated, according to a joint statement from the district and the North Shore Education Association, the collective bargaining unit that represents teachers.

"Both parties feel that we are making progress on important issues," they said ahead of the meeting. "We appreciate the community’s patience while both sides work through the collective bargaining process. Our collective top priority is an excellent education for every student."

A fifth mediation session is scheduled for Oct. 3, according to an statement issued following the Sept. 16 session on behalf of the school board.

The main issues being negotiated, the district's statement said, were salaries, reimbursement for graduate-level coursework and disagreements over how much time show be devoted to collaborative planning time for elementary school teachers.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, according to the district, the teachers union has sought a 5.25 percent annual salary increase. The board said it is willing offer raises of 4.25 percent this year and 4 percent for the next two years followed by increases between 2 and 3.75 percent calculated to be a quarter-percent above inflation. The district said it has offered a compounded salary increase of 17-22 percent while the union's offer would be an increase of more than 29 percent over the life of term of the deal.

The district has proposed that tuition reimbursement be limited to continuing graduate-level coursework at fully accredited colleges and universities, according to its statement.

The current contract allows for a joint committee made up of teachers and administrators to draw up a "district approved professional growth list." It says the course "must be taken from a recognized and fully accredited college or university" as one of the criteria for the joint committee to approve reimbursement.

According to the board's statement, student performance at District 112 continues to lag behind other North Shore districts in student performance despite improvements in student achievement. It said the district has made investments in new curriculum and resources aligned to state standards and added instructional coaches to support best educational practices.

Another of the main issues under negotiations, according to the district, is the administration's proposal to have teachers from kindergarten to fifth grade spend between 90 and 120 minutes a week of their 300 minutes of preparation and planning time on "collaborative team planning," which would include reviewing student data to target teaching and be in line with middle school standards of nearly a third of planning time set aside for team collaboration.

North Shore Education Association President Sheri Henkel did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday in response to the board's statement.

Earlier: NSSD-112 Presents Draft Budget Amid Teachers Union Negotiations

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