Prospect Heights District 23 teachers on strike; no school today
Schools will be closed Wednesday for about 1,500 students in Prospect Heights, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights and Wheeling after Prospect Heights Elementary District 23 teachers went on strike Wednesday morning.
School board President Mari-Lynn Peters said talks broke down after 12:30 a.m. overnight and teachers walked out.
"I'm extremely disappointed and very saddened by the entire thing," Peters said.
The school board and the Prospect Heights Education Association had been negotiating for nearly seven hours before the walkout and there are no further negotiation sessions planned.
Late Tuesday, the District 23 school board and Prospect Heights Education Association were still about $500,000 apart on salary negotiations.
Peters said the school board offered a 3.25 percent increase for most teachers and noncertified staff members in the first and second year and a 3 percent raise in the third year of the contract. High-wage earners, or teachers making more than $90,000 per year, would get a 1.75 percent raise in the first year and a 1.5 percent raise in the second and third year.
The union responded by asking for 4.5 percent or 4.25 percent raises for all 150 members each year, she said.
"We are inching closer together," Peters said earlier Tuesday night.
Union reps said on their website that school board members turned down proposals to meet at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., then canceled a negotiation session at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The refusal to meet means parents should expect the strike on Thursday as well, officials said.
With the strike, the Arlington Heights, Wheeling and Prospect Heights park districts are offering programs for students at their community centers, but each require registration online.
The contract negotiations between the union and the school board have been going on since March.
District 23 educates about 1,500 students at three elementary schools and one middle school.
This is the first time in the district's history that teachers in District 23 have gone on strike.