advertisement

U-46, Elgin teachers union share details of proposed compensation plan

All members vote next week on pay plan that would prioritize teachers' professional development

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story should have read all teachers eventually will be switching to a new compensation model and could see an average yearly increase of 3.88 percent over the next three years.

A proposed new contract for Elgin Area School District U-46 gradually would streamline the traditional compensation model that rewards teachers for their years of experience and level of education.

The new contract would continue to value teachers' experience and career development, but it would also recognize their contributions outside the classroom, including working on committees and performing curriculum review, officials said.

Negotiations began in January on a new contract for the district's 2,448 teachers represented by the Elgin Teachers Association. The union and U-46 administration reached a tentative agreement this month on the new contract for the 2018-21 school years.

Though supported by the union board, the tentative agreement was rejected this week by the ETA's representative assembly 88-63. Both votes are advisory. The agreement goes before the full membership for a vote Thursday.

All teachers eventually will be switching to a new compensation model and could see an average yearly increase of 3.88 percent over the next three years.

However, the biggest change would involve reducing the multiple step and lane increases available to teachers. "Step" refers to years of experience, while "lane" refers to level of education.

Union President Richard Johnson said the new compensation model will be phased in over the next three years for all teachers.

"The traditional salary model goes away with the end of the contract," he said.

The new compensation model includes 12 steps and one lane - the current compensation model has 10 lanes - and teachers would move up to the next level based on the number of career credits they earn.

"Teachers will need to acquire 150 credits to move to the next step," said Suzanne Johnson, U-46 deputy superintendent of instruction. Salary increases for experience remain, but the career credits model would reward teachers for seeking higher education, such as earning a master's degree or taking graduate classes; professional development and other training; and community engagement through committee work.

"Our interest was, how do we create some additional flexibility to be able to recognize and value the work that our teachers are doing?" Suzanne Johnson said. "We have a lot of people who work to improve the system for our students, colleagues and sites."

In addition, the new contract provides first-year teachers a $5,000 salary bump to make compensation more competitive in the region and attract quality teachers. It also addresses school safety, classroom culture and environment, and teacher workload, which can differ by site, grade level and program.

Employees' share of health insurance premiums - now at 10 percent - would rise to 15 percent effective July 1, 2021, per the deal. New hires for this fall would be put on the new health premium plan. Teachers rehired without a break in service can still be on the 90/10 split.

In March 2017, the school board granted a one-year extension to the previous three-year contract, granting a base salary increase of 0.94 percent with a step increase of 3.1 percent on average. That extension expires Aug. 10.

For more details on the tentative agreement, visit the union website, theeta.org.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.