Huntley District 158 to freeze support staff pay

Two years ago, officials in Huntley Unit District 158 called for a new teacher's contract tied to the rate of inflation.

Although that never materialized, pressure is now back on teachers to agree to such an offer after bus drivers, teacher aides and other District 158 support staff agreed to a deal that freezes salaries this year and has inflationary bumps in years two and three, according to the district.

Members of the Huntley Educational Support Personnel Association ratified the agreement last week by a 69-15 vote, according to the union. The school board is set to vote on the three-year contract on Thursday.

The deal achieved the board's budgeted goal of freezing support staff salaries this year as well as the board's stated goal in recent years of tying contract increases to inflation, according to the district.

"I think it's a contract that is affordable to the district because of the fact that in years two and three, it's (inflation) based," Superintendent John Burkey said. "I feel like in this economy, to get (the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation) is a good thing."

What's crucial, district officials say, is the contract does away with the existing salary schedule. What that means is that employees with less than five years of experience will no longer get an extra pay bump (on top of their inflationary increase) for each additional year of experience.

"Some people were getting far in excess of (the Consumer Price Index), and we felt in this economic environment we couldn't commit to that," Burkey said.

The contract also includes protection for the district and union members against unusually low or high rates of inflation, setting a 2-percent floor and 5-percent ceiling for cost-of-living raises in years two and three, according to union President Yvonne Tovar.

Tovar said job security was more important for the roughly 400 members of her union than getting large raises.

"Our members felt that it was just financially responsible to try to not ask for the world ... because of the economic issues that are going on and the funds that are not coming through for the district," Tovar said.

The contract does not modify affected employees' pension contributions or health insurance, officials said.

The deal could affect upcoming teacher contract negotiations. Teachers are starting the third year of their contract. They will receive an overall increase of 5.25 percent this year, including benefits.

"I think the economic realities aren't likely to change soon," board President Kevin Gentry said. "I would hope that the same spirit from both sides would be brought to the table."