U-46, teachers union move up contract negotiations

With an eye on looming budget cuts, Elgin Area School District U-46 and its 2,500-member teachers union has announced it will begin contract negotiations several weeks earlier than originally scheduled.

By starting early, and bringing fewer items to the table than in the past, both sides said Monday they hope for a speedy agreement.

"We intend to enter what we hope will be a quick, yet thoughtful, bargaining process by starting negotiations earlier than we've done in the past," district lawyer Pat Broncato said.

With teachers' 3-year deal to expire in mid-August, bargaining was originally to begin in April.

Elgin Teachers Association President Tim Davis said dates have not yet been set because bargaining teams must still undergo training.

The last teacher contract negotiations ended in December 2007, only after a federal mediator had been brought in.

In past years, the union has come to the table with roughly 30 items to negotiate - class sizes and caseloads among them.

This year, Davis said, "we'll have a lot less than we had last time." He declined to get into specifics.

The 41,000-student district is $48.6 million in the red. Chief Financial Officer Ron Ally is expected to announce cuts at tonight's school board meeting.