District 220, teachers agree on new five-year contract
Barrington Area Unit District 220 teachers will start the next academic season with a new contract that will provide annual raises tied to the rate of inflation.
District 220 board members approved the five-year deal at a special meeting Thursday morning. The instructors are expected to receive raises of 2.4 percent to 3.7 percent over each of the five years, based on the Consumer Price Index.
Barrington Education Association union members ratified the agreement Tuesday. Officials said the deal, running through the 2022-23 school year, culminated negotiations that began about 15 months ago.
Part of the contract allows flexibility for the district to react to significant changes in the inflation rate or in state law that negatively affect expenses or revenue.
"In order to maintain the district's financial health over the next five years, our teachers recognized the importance of flexibility in this agreement and I appreciate that they share this important perspective with our taxpayers," school board President Brian Battle said in a statement. Battle and board member Sandra Bradford represented the district in the talks.
Teachers union local President Michael Kallenbach, who works at Barrington Middle School-Prairie Campus, did not return messages seeking comment. The union is affiliated with the Illinois Education Association.
Roughly 600 full-time teachers are employed at District 220, according to the annual Illinois report card. The average salary was $79,344 for the teachers, with 83 percent having a master's degree or higher level of education.
Along with the raises, the contract beginning in the 2018-19 school year will include a new co-curricular stipend compensation formula based on objective criteria, such as length of season and student participation.
On May 1, the District 220 school board approved a four-year contract with annual raises for 400 custodians, secretaries and other unionized support employees. The deal with the Barrington School Employees Organization was retroactive to July 1, 2017, and capped about 11 months of negotiations.