What the issues are in the District 23 teacher strike

As of Friday night, the Prospect Heights Education Association and the District 23 school board were no closer to a deal and were going into a weekend where they won't begin to negotiate again until 6 p.m. Sunday.

Teachers walked out of negotiations earlier this week and classes were canceled for 1,500 students from Prospect Heights, Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We asked school board President Mari-Lynn Peters and union President Bob Miller to discuss the issues that separate them.

Negotiations

The district and the union can't agree on when to negotiate. School was canceled Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but during that time the parties sat down with a federal mediator only once - for a few hours Thursday night. When the two sides met, the school board presented the same raise schedule as Tuesday night, but Peters said they hoped to make progress on smaller issues where the two sides are closer. The union rejected that idea, she said.

Miller said he would have been willing to meet and negotiate Friday, Saturday or earlier Sunday, but the board did not make itself available until the scheduled 6 p.m. Sunday meeting.

Peters said she and the school board have been spending a lot of time talking to the community about what they want and hopes the additional time before the next meeting will give both sides time to come up with a new plan and reach a deal.

At least on that, the two sides agree.

"Every time we go to the negotiation table we are hopeful," Miller said. "We are going to work hard to get a deal done. We want to be back in the classroom with the kids. I believe there is an agreement somewhere in there, we just have to sit down at a table and get it done."

Salaries

Peters said the school board's last offer was a 3.25 percent increase for most teachers and noncertified staff members in the first two years and a 3 percent raise the third year. Teachers making more than $90,000 per year would get less - a 1.75 percent raise the first year and 1.5 percent the second and third years. The union is asking for 4.25 or 4.5 percent raises each year with no exception for the highest-paid teachers.

"We believe the money is there," Miller said of the $8 million the district has in reserves. He added the district spent $800,000 of its reserves in January to help pay for a new air conditioning system for the district, and he doesn't believe teachers are less important than infrastructure.

Peters contends taking money out of reserves to pay teacher salaries is not a sustainable solution.

"Our reserves are quite low compared to other school districts around us," she said. "If anything, we should be trying to increase our reserves because of the uncertainty in Springfield," referencing a possible pension cost shift or property tax freeze.

Salary schedule

District 23, like most school districts, used to have a salary schedule outlining pay scales for teachers depending on years of service and how much higher education they have. In 2014, the district and the union agreed to eliminate the salary schedule, but now the union wants it back on the table - something Peters said is a deal-breaker for the district.

"We are completely against that," Peters said, adding River Trails Elementary District 26 and Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 have also recently eliminated salary schedules.

Miller said the union agreed to eliminate the schedule last year with the understanding it could be reinstated in a better economy. The union has accused the school board of refusing to meet because their proposals reintroduce a salary schedule. Peters said the union can keep proposing a salary schedule all they want - the board will not accept it.

Retention

The union says with their pay rate being among the lowest in the area, teachers with experience are finding jobs elsewhere.

Miller says the overall retention rate over the past three years is 80 percent - which is considered low for a school district - and salaries pay a big role.

"We are trying to attract and retain high-quality professionals. We don't want our district to be a revolving door," he said.

Peters disagreed.

"I don't know where that number comes from," she said. I think our retention is outstanding."

Both she and Miller agree the retention rate last year was more than 90 percent, but Miller says that is just a blip in an overall pattern.

Substitute teachers

Both sides say District 23 is suffering from a substitute teacher shortage - something other districts are also experiencing - but they disagree about how to handle it.

The union wants to move all committee meetings until after school to allow teachers to stay in the classroom more, Miller said.

Peters said that would be a problem because it would exclude teachers from being a part of committees if they have other responsibilities after school such as family obligations or extracurricular activities they lead.

Union files labor complaint against board

Tensions rise each day the Prospect Heights teacher strike continues.

As if the ongoing teacher strike in Prospect Heights Elementary District 23 wasn't heated enough, the union on Thursday filed a complaint of unfair labor practices with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, accusing the district of failing to bargain in good faith. The complaint alleges the board refused to meet with the union unless it stopped proposing a salary schedule.

"The board understands that the union can propose whatever it wishes - even a salary schedule. The board also understands that it is not required to accept any union proposal," Board President Mari-Lynn Peters wrote in a response to the complaint.

The complaint also includes a negotiation session Wednesday evening that had been canceled but the union tried to show up for anyway. Peters said both sides knew the meeting was canceled.

"We can't get a deal done until we get to the table," said Union President Bob Miller.

The school board and union are scheduled to negotiation on Sunday at 6 p.m.

- Melissa Silverberg