Dist. 158, teachers union still unable to reach deal

Huntley Unit District 158 and the district's teachers union were again unable to reach a deal on a new contract after meeting for four hours Sunday.

District 158 board members and the union leadership did not reach agreement on any items or make any progress bridging the gap between the cost of their proposals, according to the board and the union.

"At today's negotiating meeting, there was no negotiating done," union Co-President Julie Hunter said.

Teachers have been working without a contract since Aug. 21 and have authorized union leaders to call a strike if negotiations break down.

Union officials have said they will not strike as long as the board continues to negotiate.

The board and union leaders are scheduled to meet again Sept. 14, 16 and 23.

While they agreed little progress was made Sunday, the board and the union disagreed on who was to blame.

Hunter said the Huntley Education Association hoped to sign off on several noneconomic items the sides had previously agreed on but was rebuffed by the board.

"They did not sign off on any aspects of the contract," Hunter said. "The union would like to move forward with this contract, and we would like to (tentatively agree) on these articles that have been resolved so that we can move forward."

Board member Larry Snow said board members didn't agree to the items because they don't want to approve the contract on a piecemeal basis.

"We want to sign off on packages, the economic items and the noneconomic items as a complete package," Snow said.

Board members said the crux of the contract dispute is that the union's latest contract offer is significantly more costly than the district's latest proposal.

Board members said Sunday the union's proposal would cost $4.25 million more than the district's offer over three years.

"We are working so hard to encourage the HEA to get in the ballpark ... to where there's a dramatically smaller difference to smooth out," Snow said.

Hunter declined to comment on whether the union agreed with the $4.25 million figure.

"That is something that we still need to discuss," she said.

Sunday's discussions focused mainly on the first-year cost of both proposals, board members and union leaders said.

Board members have said the union's proposal would cost at least $400,000 more than the district's offer in the first year.

The union's latest offer would boost teacher compensation by at least 6 percent, 7 percent and 8 percent in years one, two and three, respectively.

The district's most recent proposal would raise teacher pay by about 5.43 percent in the first year. After that, teacher salaries would rise with inflation, plus an additional .65 percent.

Although the union membership rejected the district's offer last month, and the board rejected the union's proposal last week, the negotiating teams are still using both offers as a starting point for further negotiations, board members and union leaders say.