Some U-46 teachers unhappy with proposed new contract

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.

Teachers in Elgin Area School District U-46 will vote Thursday on a proposed new contract being met with some resistance among the rank and file.

The Elgin Teachers Association - the union representing the district's 2,448 teachers - and U-46 administration reached a tentative agreement this month on the new multiyear contract for the 2018-21 school years that will provide raises to all teachers.

Teachers will be switching to a new compensation model and could see an average yearly increase of 3.88 percent over the next three years. Some teachers will transition to the new model over time remaining under the current compensation system and will begin to accrue career credits before switching, U-46 spokeswoman Mary Fergus said Tuesday.

"The 3.88 percent increase includes the cost of all teachers, those staying on the old (current) system for three years, and those changing to the new schedule in the first year, and those transitioning in between," Fergus said.

The tentative agreement was rejected last week by the union's representative assembly by 88-63 votes.

Lisa Del Giudice, who teaches math at Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, is one veteran educator unhappy with the contract proposal she called the worst of her 33-year career. Teachers upset over the deal will meet Wednesday before the membership vote, she said.

The biggest change would involve reducing the multiple step and lane increases available to teachers. Step refers to years of teaching, while a lane refers to a level of education.

Teachers' current step and lane placement will be converted to career credits - 40 credits each per step and lane. The new compensation model includes 12 steps and one lane that teachers would move up based on the number of career credits they earn.

Teachers would need to acquire 150 credits to move up one step and could earn up to 1,800 credits across the salary scale.

Salaries for beginning teachers would rise to $50,000 a year from $43,000. Each group of first-year teachers would get a $5,000 bump during the contract to make salaries more competitive with those of neighboring districts and attract quality teachers, officials said.

District administrators and union leaders said they believe the proposed contract is fair and follows a nationwide trend of moving away from standard increases for teachers.

However, Del Giudice said the new salary scheduled doesn't benefit two-thirds of the teachers until the end of the third year, when they will be grandfathered into the new schedule "with the promise of not losing wages."

"It's much less of a raise than what normally would have been bargained," she said. "Raising the starting salary will not attract more quality teachers, just more teachers who want to be paid better."

While salary increases for experience remain, the career credits model would reward teachers for earning a master's degree or taking graduate classes, professional development and other training, community engagement through committee work, and improving the learning environment and school climate, district officials have said.

Officials aim to address school safety, classroom culture and environment, and teacher workload through discussions next school year.

Del Giudice said the credit model hurts more experienced teachers who don't have time for extra committee work or taking more classes. She said teacher workload is increasing under the proposed contract with more tutoring duties for supervisors, and merely talking about school safety and other issues "is not a plan."