Elgin Area School District U-46 to recall 220 more teachers

The third phase of teacher recalls in Elgin Area School District U-46 is underway with district officials planning to call back 220 teachers to fill vacant positions.

In March, the school district agreed to layoff 1,037 employees - including 732 teachers - to overcome a mounting deficit and anticipated cuts to state funding. All first-, second-, and third-year teachers, as well as tenured teachers across various departments, were out of a job at the end of the school year.

The district started recalling teachers on May 21 when the first 200 teachers on the seniority list were called and offered positions if the teacher was certified and qualified to teach in a vacant position. The second round of recalls took place just before Memorial Day with another 100 teaching positions filled.

U-46 spokesman Tony Sanders said the district expects to rehire between 300 and 400 teachers in total. Those who remain on the recall list are encouraged to stay by their phones in the coming days. It was unclear how many teachers had, so far, filled vacant positions.

Unlike the first two waves, the district this time will continue down the seniority list until all 220 positions are filled, Sanders said.

"This should complete the recalls, but we can't rule out more as we get closer to the start of the school year ... and we see what new classes need to be added and collapsed," Sanders said.

Sanders said with the recalls, the district would still save about $12 million in elementary and high school teacher salaries.

"It was an over-reduction and we cut into teachers more than we needed," Sanders said. "We provided for the recall so that the most senior teachers who may or may not have certification in other areas can filter down."