No raises in first year of new Kaneland teachers’ contract
Kaneland teachers will receive no overall salary increases in July and 2.7 percent raises in July 2013 under the terms of a three-year contract the school board approved Monday night.
Whether they get raises in the third year, and how much, won’t be determined until the middle of the second year.
This year, a starting teacher with no experience and just a bachelor’s degree makes $36,650. Pay tops out at $83,787, plus a $5,500 “longevity bonus,” for a teacher with 18 years’ experience and a master’s degree plus 36 more hours of post-graduate credits.
The board approved the contract 7-0. The Kaneland Education Association approved it Sunday night “by an overwhelming majority,” said Lynn McHenry, the union’s chief negotiator.
It covers the full-time equivalent of 333 teachers and other certified educators, including social workers, school psychologists and school librarians.
McHenry said the union realized the district is facing “big financial crunches” and so agreed with the district’s negotiators there should be no raise the first year.
The district, like many others, expects to receive less property tax revenue as property values have declined and to see increased costs for supplies. It is also uncertain about how much state aid it may get, proposed decreases in transportation funding from the state, whether and when the state will catch up on paying money it already owes the district, and if the state will shift more costs on to the district.
Extra-duty pay for teacher-related duties remains at $34 an hour; extra-duty pay for supervisory work was reduced to $20 an hour.
A separate memorandum of understanding attached to the agreement calls for health-insurance deductibles paid by employees to increase in the 2015-16 school year, to $500 for single coverage and $900 for family coverage. The district insurance committee will discuss, during the 2012-13 school year, ways to save money on health insurance costs, including the use of health savings accounts.
Superintendent Jeff Schuler noted that “the importance of having this settled, with the budget process we have looming, it was no small feat to have this contract settled at this point in the year.”
He credited that to using a negotiating strategy called “interest-based.” McHenry said negotiators for both sides attended training in the technique, which encourages everyone to explain their background first, then present options for what they want.
It contrasted sharply to the negotiation of the last contract, in 2008. Then the union members authorized a strike (but never did) and federal mediation was required. The three-year contract wasn’t approved until the new school year had started, and even then three trustees voted against the contract.
And in February 2010, when the district asked the teachers to postpone their pay hike, the union initially said “no.” The school board then announced plans to lay off about 33 percent of its certified staff, citing a large deficit between expected revenue and expected costs. The union then agreed to delay the last year of the raise in exchange for a one-year contract extension and elimination of the layoffs.
Some of the union members may still lose their jobs after this school year, however. Monday night, the board adopted a package of budget cuts for the 2012-13 fiscal year that includes eliminating 15 full-time certified employees, including teachers, a high school librarian and two others. The cuts are expected to save $1.1 million.
Copies of the contract were not available to the public Monday night, nor was it signed by the board president and secretary, as the superintendent said he and McHenry are still “cleaning up” the document.