Progress made in Huntley schools contract talks

Three days after facing criticism for refusing to agree to already settled contract items, the Huntley Unit District 158 school board said Wednesday it was willing to sign off on some of those terms.

The announcement is the first public sign of progress in the teacher contract talks that began in February.

Teachers have been without a contract since they returned to work Aug. 21 and have authorized union leadership to call a strike if talks fail.

The board's willingness to accept some of the union's proposed contract language appears to be a reversal of the board's stance Sunday, the last time the two sides met.

After that four-hour meeting, union co-President Julie Hunter said the board was holding up talks by refusing to sign off on five noneconomic items on which they had agreed upon verbally.

Board member Larry Snow said Sunday the board rebuffed the union because they hoped to sign off on economic and noneconomic contract items as two complete packages.

That stance softened Wednesday.

"The board believes that as we are now into September, it is time to begin tentatively agreeing (to) items that have been resolved and work toward (tentative agreement) on the other items," Superintendent John Burkey wrote Wednesday in a letter to the union co-presidents.

The items the board is willing to agree include standard contract language that defines district and union rights and governs the use of the district facilities by the union, board Vice President Tony Quagliano said.

Quagliano said the board would finalize the items in a closed-door meeting Wednesday night.

"Most of that stuff has been resolved for months," he said.

Hunter, co-president of the teachers union, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Despite Wednesday's announcement, the board and the union remain far apart on the most contentious contract issues - namely salary and other forms of compensation.

The board's latest offer would increase teacher pay by 5.43 percent, on average, in the first year. For three years after that, teacher salaries would rise at the same pace as the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, plus an additional .65 percent.

The union's most recent offer would increase overall teacher compensation by at least 6 percent, 7 percent and 8 percent in years one, two and three of the contract, respectively. The union has proposed a three-year deal.

Both offers have been formally rejected by the other side, but board members and union officials said the proposals are still on the table.

They are scheduled to meet again Sunday, Sept. 14; Tuesday, Sept. 16 and Tuesday, Sept. 23.