The third time proved the charm for Huntley Area District 158 teachers, who ratified an agreement with the school board Monday after rejecting two previous offers in recent months.
Details of the agreement were not released Monday pending the school board's ratification of the contract. The board is expected to vote on the contract Tuesday.
Julie McLaughlin, co-president of the Huntley Education Association that represents about 650 teachers, said union members in attendance for the vote overwhelming favored the contract. McLaughlin said 98 percent of teachers present supported the contract, The number of ballots cast was not available Monday night.
"This is definitely a fair contract for teachers, the district and the community," McLaughlin said.
A spokesman from the board of education was not immediately available for comment Monday night.
The tentative agreement was reached last Wednesday, hours after the teachers union declared an impasse. It was the third agreement the two sides had presented to union members in three months. The first was voted down in September and the second in mid-October. At that time, teachers gave the union leadership permission to call a strike, if needed. The results of the strike vote were "overwhelming," union leaders said.
Reasons for the union members' rejection of the previous two agreements were not disclosed, but union leaders said they were "looking for a fair contract."
A news release from the board last week said language issues had been resolved and that the remaining issues were primarily compensation.
