District 46 teachers deal gets final OK

Grayslake Elementary District 46 teachers will be getting their raises now that a new contract is official.

District 46 board members approved their end of the deal at a meeting Monday night. The Grayslake Federation of Teachers union OK'd its end of the three-year contract last month.

District 46 Superintendent Ellen Correll said the instructors will get an average 4 percent raise in each of the three years. She said that 4 percent average will include the teachers' standard step increases.

But the raises come amid a shaky financial future, said District 46 board President Michael Linder.

"Four percent in this day and world is a lot," Linder said Thursday. "I think we did right by them."

Linder said the Grayslake elementary system is on pace to have a $2 million shortfall for the 2009-10 academic year. He reiterated concerns about a drop-off in revenue from home construction within District 46's boundaries.

Negotiators from the school district and teachers union reached a tentative agreement on Nov. 1. The deal came after roughly 330 instructors voted Oct. 27 to strike over salary issues.

Both sides worked about 10 months before agreeing on the three-year contract. District 46 teachers, who had been working without a contract since June 10, are scheduled to receive retroactive pay next week.