Naperville 203 teacher contract braces for property tax freeze
Teachers in Naperville Unit District 203 will receive average raises of 2.35 percent over each of the next two years as part of a three-year contract approved this week, but their salaries in the final year of the pact largely will depend on what happens at the state level.
The contract, which takes effect July 1 for the 1,390 teachers in the Naperville Unit Education Association, allows the district to freeze salaries in the third year if the state freezes local property tax levies this year and effectively prevents the district from bringing in additional revenue.
School board members who unanimously approved the pact on Monday praised the approach as respectful of the teachers who educate roughly 16,000 students in the district and the residents who pay them.
“If we have a property tax freeze, we have agreed on how to address that in a fiscally responsible way that's fair to teachers,” board member Kristin Fitzgerald said.
In the first two years of the deal, teachers will receive 1.4 percent raises in base salary and movement on the district's step schedule that rewards longevity and completion of professional development classes. Salary and step increases will combine for an average raise of 2.35 percent a year.
Chief Financial Officer Brad Cauffman said potential raises for the third year will be determined in January when the Illinois Department of Revenue releases the December 2016 Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation. If the state does not mandate a property tax freeze or limit the amount by which governments can raise taxes, teachers will be given a base raise in the 2018-19 school year worth 67 percent of the CPI, not to exceed 2.5 percent.
The contract also increases pay rates for some additional work teachers take on, such as teaching summer school and designing new district curriculum plans, and changes how teachers earn eligibility for post-retirement health insurance. Starting in summer 2017, the pay for teaching summer school will rise to $35 an hour from $30 under the previous deal, which expires June 30.
Also starting in summer 2017, the hourly rate for developing new district curriculum will increase to $27 from $19 and the rate for internal substitute teaching or supervising a lunchroom will increase to $25 from $19.
Teachers also will be required to provide 4½ years' notice of their retirement to be eligible for a total of up to $48,000 toward health insurance premiums paid during the first 10 years after retiring. Teachers who notify the district closer to their planned retirement will receive less, and if they retire with less than 1½ years' notice, they will not be eligible for the benefit at all.
Cauffman said once a teacher has given retirement notice, he or she cannot receive a pay increase of more than 6 percent in any given year — even if the teacher takes on additional responsibilities that come with stipends.
Teachers and the district agreed to schedule more meetings of a committee that addresses instructional and professional concerns. Mark Bailey, president of the Naperville Unit Education Association, said the committee will meet six times a year “because the profession of teaching is changing so rapidly.”
The contract can be reopened if there would be an effect on teacher pay from any recommendations made by a committee that is studying the school day and school year.
“We had a very collaborative process throughout with both sides working together,” Superintendent Dan Bridges said, “to ensure that we had a contract in place that would attract and retain the best educators but also be responsible to our community.”