Union, board reach accord in Grayslake District 46

The Grayslake Elementary District 46 teachers union and school board reached a tentative agreement on new contract Saturday afternoon.

Neither side would release details of the pact until an agreement is also reached for noncertified employees.

Last week, the Grayslake Federation of Teachers voted to strike because negotiations had broken down over the district's ability to provide accurately calculated teacher salaries.

The 300 teachers serving seven schools could have walked out as early as Nov. 6, although a strike date had not been set after the Monday vote.

The two sides were negotiating an agreement to replace the 2005-08 contract that expired June 30. The teachers had been working without a contract since then.

The union and district officials had been bargaining for 10 months and been in mediation since Aug. 1.

An agreement was reached after a seven-hour negotiation that started at 9 a.m. Saturday with a mediator present. However, both sides would not discuss the details of the meeting.

"Both parties made compromises today to reach this settlement," said Diane Elftering, president of the Grayslake Federation of Teachers, in a statement released Saturday.

Previously, the union had said a major issue on the table was the length of the agreement.

The union had contended that the district has enough money in its education fund to grant pay increases.

The teachers still have to ratify the contract, which will not take place until the noncertified contract is also worked out. Those contracts include office staff, program assistants and custodial personnel.

"Hopefully, we're going to meet with them some time this week," said Ellen Correll, superintendent of the district.