Fremont closes in on teacher contract

Fremont School District 79 teachers are close to inking a new contract with the administration and board, officials said Monday.

The proposed deal, expected to cover the next three years of service, would apply to the roughly 195 teachers at the Mundelein-area district's three schools.

Superintendent Rick Taylor didn't divulge the terms of the proposed contract but said teachers could expect salary increases "in the modest range" if the deal goes through.

The teachers union, called the Fremont Education Association, already has tentatively approved the deal, Taylor said. The school board was expected to vote on the contract Monday night but some of the details - such as a salary schedule - haven't been finalized, Taylor said.

The board could approve the plan at its next meeting, set for June 28.

The current teacher contract expires in August, Taylor said. It was a five-year contract.

Taylor said he hopes the board will approve the contract at the next meeting in part because of personal reasons: He's retiring, and that session will be his last as the district's leader.

Taylor will be replaced in July by Jill Gildea, who now leads Harrison School District 36 in Wonder Lake.

District 79 serves more than 2,100 students from Mundelein, Grayslake, Hawthorn Woods, Libertyville, Long Grove, Round Lake, Round Lake Park, Wauconda and other area communities.

Its elementary school, intermediate school and middle school all are on Fremont Center Road near Mundelein.