U-46 teachers' contract negotiations begin Thursday

The first of five contract negotiation sessions between Elgin Area School District U-46 and its teachers union will take place Thursday.

With significantly fewer items up for discussion, Elgin Teachers Association President Tim Davis said officials hope to have a contract in place before the end of the school year.

In the past, the union has brought as many as 30 items to the bargaining table. This time, Davis said, it's in the "single digits." He declined to get into specifics, only noting that salary would be a major focus.

Each bargaining session will be facilitated by an outside lawyer, a new feature this year.

After Thursday, negotiation sessions will take place on Saturday and again on April 20 and 23 and May 6.

If the district and union can reach a tentative agreement in five sessions, Davis said, the contract will come before the union's board and representative assembly for a vote.

The union's 2,693 members could vote on the deal by the end of May.

If not, more bargaining will take place over the summer, Davis said.

U-46, which predicts a $44 million deficit next year, announced $29.6 million in cuts March 15. They included layoffs for more than 1,000 employees - 732 of them teachers. That number included all first-, second- and third-year teachers, as well as more than 70 tenured teachers.

Millions more hinge on contract negotiations. Increasing class sizes, instituting pay cuts and raising individual insurance contributions are all possibilities.

In January and February, parents, teachers, local leaders and union officials all got the chance to cast anonymous, computerized votes on how budget cuts could be made.

The 48 cost-cutting options voters could select from were divided into several categories: administrative costs, salaries and benefits, operations, school staffing, and other staffing. Voters were given the task of selecting items to cut until they reached a $40 million total.

Of 459 votes, 439 opted for increasing employee contributions for insurance at some level.

Raising individual insurance contributions from 10 to 20 percent would save the district $4.3 million. Bringing the contribution up to 30 percent would save $8.7 million.

Similarly, 453 voted for decreasing employee pay between 1 and 5 percent.

Reducing pay by 5 percent across the board - which would save $11 million - received 197 votes. Cutting pay 2 percent - saving $4.4 million - got 99 votes. Even a 1 percent pay cut would yield $2.2 million in savings.

Votes cast on each of the cuts were broken down into two groups: employees and others. Of all the pay cut scenarios, a 2-percent pay cut got the most support from employees: 82 of 99 votes.

The average teacher salary in U-46, according to 2009 state report cards, is $66,489.

Negotiating $10 million in salary and/or benefit cuts could save about 150 jobs.