Prairie Grove school board approves 4-year teachers contract

The Prairie Grove Elementary District 46 school board and its teachers union have inked a deal on a 4-year contract that includes salary increases for teachers.

Teachers in the district near Crystal Lake went on strike for one day in October as contract negotiations stalled after more than a year. The Prairie Grove Teachers Association represents 74 instructors at the Prairie Grove elementary and junior high schools. Teachers have been working under the conditions of an agreement that expired in August 2011.

In a news release sent Tuesday night, the union said the salary raises are based on a percentage of the Consumer Price Index and are all inclusive, meaning automatic step increases that teachers received based on years of service in the district have been eliminated.

The teachers agreed to an average increase of 1.76 percent for 2011-12 and an average increase of 1.89 percent for 2012-13, the release said. Future increases, it said, will continue to be based on a percentage of the CPI.

An impasse was declared in the spring and final offers were submitted to the Illinois Education Labor Review Board in May.

Neither the union nor the school board responded to requests for comment.