LTHS Fails To Respond To Teacher's Aides: Union

LA GRANGE, IL — Lyons Township High School's teacher's aides say they expected the school board to respond by last Friday to a request for a special meeting on contract negotiations. That has not happened.

Over the weekend, the union said the commitment for a response by Friday came through a federal mediator involved in the talks.

In a news release, the Lyons Township Paraeducators Association said it has not received an offer from the school since Nov. 9. That offer, the union said, was overwhelmingly rejected by members. Two mediator-led sessions have been held since the last offer was made.

"As of now, the (school board) and the Paraeducator Association will not have another mediation session until some time in March, four months after the most recent offer," Nick Castiglione, the union's spokesman, said in the news release. "They are clearly not treating this as the priority it should be. At this point, any and all options are on the table in regards to our response."

The teacher's aides have worked without a contract this school year.

The school's spokesman has not replied to a request for comment, which Patch left on Monday.

On its website, the school said it offered aides an 8 percent average increase in the first year of a four-year contract and 3 percent annual hikes in the remaining three years.

The union said the school's proposed raises come from a low point, contending local aides are among the lowest paid in the area.