U-46 gives its side of story after contract rejection
The Elgin Area School District U-46 school board on Monday said it was “extremely disappointed” in the recent decision of the teachers union to reject a tentative contract agreement that board members said demonstrates the district's commitment to both teachers and students.
Last Thursday, members of the Elgin Teachers Association, which represents about 2,200 teachers across the district, overwhelmingly voted against the tentative agreement. The vote was 1,319 against and just 673 votes in favor of it.
In a news release sent after Monday's special closed session board meeting, school board President Donna Smith said the tentative agreement lowered class sizes for the district's youngest students, provided opportunities for teachers to be leaders of their own profession, gave teachers a voice in transforming the school day to maximize learning, afforded most teachers a 2 to 4½ percent pay raise for the current school year and continued to provide retirement bonuses to teachers who qualify.
“We continue to believe the tentative agreement we reached with the help of a facilitator selected by the Elgin Teachers Association was very fair to our teachers, our students, and our communities,” Smith said in the board's first official response to the vote. “Given the state of the Illinois economy and of the state of education across our country, we all must be committed to both improving outcomes for students and ensuring the financial viability of our school district.”
Union leaders, however, had cited an extended school day as a main reason for rejecting the tentative agreement, which the two sides reached in March.
ETA President Kathryn Castle said last week that “members continue to struggle with what they feel are mixed messages from the district on how best to distribute our diminishing resources to have the greatest impact on the day to day learning in each classroom.”
The release from the school board also states the district will suggest a mediator be present when the two sides return to the negotiating table. A date for more talks has not yet been set.