D303 union contract nixes projected deficit
A new contract with St. Charles Unit District 303’s largest teacher’s union will allow the district to avoid a $4.2 million deficit for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
School board members inked the contract with the St. Charles Education Association Monday night. The union has more than 1,000 members and represents one of the largest cost drivers in the district.
The union agreed to a new two-year contract that freezes wages for its members for the 2011-12 fiscal year, including freezing automatic step increases for years of service.
That freeze has a major impact on district finances. District administrators have repeatedly said each 1 percent increase in salaries represents an additional $1 million in cost to the district. The $4.2 million deficit had factored in a 3 percent pay raise.
“Our teachers continue to demonstrate the willingness to work alongside the board of education and district administration in providing a high level of education for our students while also being fiscally responsible,” said District 303 Board President Scott Nowling in a written statement. “Based on this new contract, our current projections show we will require no further reductions to balance our budget for 2011-12 as long as other budget assumptions remain constant.”
The second year of the agreement will bring some possible salary increases for teachers, but there will be no jump in base pay. Raises will be attainable through teachers furthering their education or earning a step increase of up to 2.5 percent.
“The SCEA is well aware of the economic challenges facing our community and our schools,” said union President Pam Turriff in a written statement. “By agreeing to a year’s salary freeze we are helping the board of education balance the budget. While the board has had to make some tough financial decisions in recent years, they’ve made those decisions based on keeping as many teachers as possible in classrooms teaching students.”
District officials had contemplated changes in class sizes and program reductions to address the projected deficit. The district has also cut staff in recent years to address a dwindling revenue stream in the down economy.
The 2012-13 fiscal year will still have some challenges. Before the contract, the district had projected a $5.5 million deficit. But the new contract, combined with the closure of the Little Woods facility, a small building used for some vocational education activities that have been discontinued, and the implementation of some energy savings programs, is expected to come close to erasing that projected deficit as well.