Elk Grove Township Dist. 59 approves new teachers' contract with pay hikes up to 3.5%
Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 has inked a new three-year teachers' contract that calls for salary increases of up to 3.5%, though officials have yet to release full terms of the agreement set to take effect July 1.
District officials said the official contract language is being finalized by their attorneys, and once the review is complete, the document would be posted to the district website.
On Wednesday, the district offered some additional details about the contract, which was approved on a 7-0 vote by the school board Monday night. Members of the District 59 Education Association, which includes teachers and specialized certified professionals such as social workers and speech pathologists, ratified the contract May 31.
The agreement calls for compensation increases ranging from 1.1% to 3.25% in the upcoming school year, and ranges of 1.5% to 3.5% the following year and the year after that.
District spokesman Justin Sampson said that in an effort to attract and retain newer staff members, the greater percentages would be applied to those with 18 years or less of service time.
In the first year of the agreement, the average new hire with a bachelor's degree would earn a base salary of $44,372, while someone with a master's degree plus 30 graduate hours would make $109,817, Sampson said.
The new contract eliminates two salary schedules in the old deal and instead creates a new 26-row compensation matrix, in which placement does not equate to years of service, he said.
The proposed salary increases over the course of three years are estimated to cost $3.6 million.
Sampson said there are no changes to benefits in the agreement, such as medical, dental and life insurance.
The contract replaces the six-year pact between the board and union that's due to expire June 30. Bargaining teams representing both sides met a dozen times starting on Jan. 6 to hash out a new deal.
District 59 covers portions of Elk Grove Village, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines and Mount Prospect.