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Mundelein District 75 teachers, school board hopeful for contract resolution

Mundelein elementary instructors have been working without contract since June

Some hurdles remain, but teachers and school officials in Mundelein Elementary District 75 are hopeful a settlement can be reached as the two sides prepare for another negotiating session.

While there is said to be progress on salaries, teachers contend the earnings of more experienced educators would stay behind those of other districts. School officials dispute the contention the district loses up to 20 percent of its teachers per year who may be looking elsewhere for higher pay.

A session scheduled for Wednesday would be the 15th since negotiations began in January. The contract ended June 30, and a mediator has been overseeing the process since June.

In late September, the 144-member Mundelein Elementary Education Association voted 122 to 13 to authorize a strike. However, neither side has declared an impasse, meaning the clock has not started on what would be about a monthlong process before a strike could occur.

“We certainly have not walked away from the table and they have not either, which is good,” school board member Wells Frice said Tuesday. Frice is the district's spokesman for negotiations.

Union co-president Nick Ciko ended a lengthy statement to the board Monday during the public comment portion of its meeting by saying he “remained optimistic” for a resolution. About 125 teachers and parents attended the meeting to show support.

Ciko's statement was in response to an Oct. 5 letter from the district updating parents on negotiations. In the letter, the district said salary increases offered to teachers were “substantially higher than inflation” and the number of teachers leaving each year for higher pay was about half what the union claims. Salary, retirement increases and professional development were the final three unresolved issues, according to the letter.

Ciko told the board that teachers are committed to balancing the needs of the teachers, students, taxes on residents and the district's long-term fiscal security.

“Fairness is what we seek,” Ciko said. Teachers have endured layoffs and reduced retirement incentives, and the district's financial situation is good, he added.

“To suggest that the teachers are jeopardizing this is untrue,” he said. “It is a misleading tactic designed to provoke unnecessary fear among parents and the community.”

Frice said the salary offer was twice the rate of inflation, which is 1.7 percent, with the most experienced teachers being offered four times the inflation rate.

“We don't think that's being nonresponsive,” he said.

Ciko said the salaries for District 75 teachers with 10 years of experience rank fifth-lowest in Illinois and the district's offer would not make them competitive. He added the salary offer that has “been mostly agreed to” was a step in the right direction.

Teachers also said it was “imprudent” to hinge negotiations on the possibility that pension costs may shift to the district and added teachers have agreed to revisit the contract should that occur.

  Nick Ciko, co-president of the teachers union in Mundelein Elementary District 75, addresses the school board Monday night. About 125 teachers and parents attended the meeting in support of the union. Contract negotiations continue Wednesday. Mick Zawislak/mzawislak@dailyherald.com
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