Day 7: No school Friday in Prospect Heights

After another late night of negotiating, Prospect Heights Elementary District 23 teachers are on strike for a seventh day on Friday.

During four hours of meeting with a federal mediator on Thursday night, the District 23 school board stuck to its "best and final" offer that the union had rejected with 92 percent of the vote earlier that day, said President Mari-Lynn Peters.

Peters said the union presented a new proposal with a two-year salary schedule and 4.25 percent raises, which the board rejected.

"We countered with our best and final offer because that is our best and final offer," Peters said of their proposal which includes raises between 2 percent and 3.75 percent for teachers over a four-year contract.

The school board and union are set to meet again at 6 p.m. on Friday.

As the two sides move toward a stalemate, some parents who were once supporting the union are starting change sides. On Thursday night at a rally before the negotiation there were now two groups of pickets, those supporting the Prospect Heights Education Association and those supporting the school board, holding signs with messages about getting the students back in class - where they haven't been since Sept. 15.

Union President Bob Miller did not return multiple calls for comment on Thursday.

After the vote on Thursday morning, Miller sent out a statement saying "it was a very emotional meeting."

"Every PHEA member wants to get back to school with our students. However, the offer was inadequate in meeting our primary goals," he wrote.

Miller said the board's offer does not do enough to move committee work outside of the school day, which he says means teachers are pulled out of the classroom too often. The offer also caps educational advancement and limits what educators can earn for getting advanced degrees.

Miller did say the financial part of the offer was "closer to an acceptable settlement," but added it is still "inadequate in closing the wage gap with surrounding districts."

He also said the lack of a salary schedule was another problem with the offer.

"We continue to say to this Board, we are willing to meet, we are ready to meet, even in a public forum," Miller wrote. "We want to put this behind us and get kids back in the classroom. But, we need the Board to negotiate with a commitment to a fair settlement without preconditions."