Fremont Dist. 79 OKs 3-year teacher deal

Fremont Elementary District 79 teachers will see their pay increase about 2 percent when they return to school in the fall, thanks to a newly approved three-year contract.

The deal also includes 3-percent raises, on average, in the second and third years of the contract, which runs through summer 2013.

The school board for the Mundelein-area district unanimously approved the deal with the teachers union Monday night, Superintendent Rick Taylor said.

The 155-member teachers union, known as the Fremont Education Association, had approved the proposal June 8, Taylor said.

The contract goes into effect in mid-August, replacing a five-year pact set to expire that month.

Under the deal, the starting salary for a new teacher will be $36,775, up less than 1 percent from $36,502.

The starting salary will increase about 1 percent in the second year of the contract and about 1.5 percent for the third year, Taylor said.

No benefits are changing, he said.

Many other school districts and government agencies have been freezing salaries, laying off workers and making other personnel-cost cutbacks in recent years, but Taylor said the raises are possible and affordable because the district is financially stable.

"We are probably fortunate now," he said.

The teachers are the district's only unionized employees, Taylor said. Negotiations with the union began in January and went "extremely well," he said.

Now that the contract is finalized, officials will work on setting salaries for the district's administrators and other workers, he said.

The terms of the contract will be posted on the district's website, fremont.lake.k12.il.us.

District 79's three schools serve more than 2,100 students. They come from Mundelein, Grayslake, Hawthorn Woods, Libertyville, Long Grove, Round Lake, Round Lake Park, Wauconda and other communities.