Pay Raises Explained: La Grange Highlands D106

LA GRANGE HIGHLANDS, IL – La Grange Highlands School District 106 had a year left on its teachers union contract.

But the district wanted to reopen negotiations for the last year of the agreement to give teachers a larger increase than what was slated, Superintendent John Munch said in an interview with Patch this week.

The district, he said, found that it was losing teachers because of comparatively low pay.

"We're losing good teachers, and it's difficult to hire more," he said. "We shared a desire to negotiate for the purpose of some pretty significant salary adjustments."

The district said it analyzed teacher salaries for the 11 districts that feed into either Lyons Township High School or Hinsdale High School District 86.

The numbers showed that veteran District 106 teachers with 25 or more years of experience made about $10,000 more than their counterparts on average.

However, most of those under 25 years made on average $4,700 to $6,900 less than their peers.

As a result of the negotiations, teachers with less than 25 years of experience will see increases of $6,000 to $8,000 on average, ranging from 8 to 17 percent in the first year, according to the district.

The veteran teachers are set to get $3,500 raises, amounting to about 2.5 percent. Their salaries will continue to be considerably ahead of those in other districts, the district said.

For teacher's aides, the district is contributing to their health insurance for the first time, which amounts to $7,000 to $20,000 for those who take insurance, Munch said.

Custodians also were falling short, compensated up to 15 percent below their peers, Munch said. Their hourly wages, he said, have increased by 10 to 23 percent over the previous year, based on their tenure and how their individual pay compared with other districts.

Throughout the process, the school board's goal was to ensure the district's salaries are competitive with other districts, the board said in a public statement this week.

"We believe this goal has been accomplished and will continue to review data and monitor trends to ensure District 106 continues to provide a satisfying working and learning environment for all staff and students," the board said.