Teacher's Aides Reject LTHS Offer

LA GRANGE, IL — Members of the teacher's aides union at Lyons Township High School has rejected a contract offer from the school's administration.

The union reported Tuesday that negotiations stalled last week after 77 percent of teacher's aides, officially known as paraeducators, voted against the school board's offer.

On its website, the school said it offered aides an 8 percent average increase in the first year of a four-year contract. It said this would place their pay in the top three of comparable districts within the Chicago area.

According to the school, the board offered 3 percent annual hikes for the remaining three years of the contract. It said it also agreed to give more money through longevity payments and stipends for complex or additional assignments.

The school also said it would make no changes to the contribution percentages in its health plans.

In a statement, Nick Castiglione, a teacher's aide and spokesman for the Lyons Township Paraeducators Association, said the group's members are disappointed in the way negotiations are proceeding.

"We have not received a counteroffer since November 9, which was before mediation began," he said. "LTHS is one of the highest rated schools in the area, yet our paras are paid (among) the lowest in the area. A LTHS paraeducator's starting salary is $15.45 an hour, compared with up to $25 an hour at one nearby school that also uses a Tier System that takes into account experience."

In a statement late last week, the school said it has been negotiating with aides in good faith for 10 months, including sessions with a federal mediator. It said it strives to provide the highest quality of education while also maintaining fiscal responsibility to safeguard taxpayers' money.

"While an agreement has not yet been reached, the Board of Education remains committed to continue communicating and exchanging potential solutions with the LTPA in order to arrive at a competitive contract," the school said in the statement.

Castiglione said the school has suffered a shortage of teacher's aides for years, predating the pandemic. He blamed that situation on wages that he said were not competitive. He said more than half of the school's aides have bachelor's degrees, master's degrees or teaching certificates.

"The Board of Education's team informed us at our last meeting they need to go back to the full Board to get authorization for more funds," Castiglione said. "There have been two Board meetings since their last offer on November 9. They are clearly not treating this as the priority it should be."

This has all happened, the union said, as the school board approved two new administrative positions with combined salaries of about $300,000. It also noted the school board recently approved money for new air conditioning, a scoreboard, track painting and electrical work at both campuses.

In an email to Patch, Yvonne Glodz, the union's bargaining chairwoman, said the 8 percent increase may look good, but aides are playing catch-up since previous increases of 25 cents. And she said yearly health premium increases have gone up 14 percent in the past.

"Some years, we are making less money per paycheck due to the significant increase," she said.

She also questioned the school's comparisons to other districts.

"LT does not have a tiered system for paraeducators. We are all lumped into one category," Glodz said. "Most of the other schools have multiple tiers. When doing comparisons, they are taking the lowest tier to compare to our pay. This is not a fair comparison."

The union said it expected the school to respond to the union on further mediation action by week's end.

Teacher's aides have been working without a contract since the beginning of the school year.