'Nobody wants a strike': Where teacher contract talks stand in Fenton High School District 100

As the new school year gets underway, Fenton High School teachers and the district are still locked in contract negotiations after more than six months at the bargaining table.

Fenton teachers have been working under the terms of their old contract since it expired last week.

Bargaining teams for the teachers union and Fenton High School District 100 began meeting with a federal mediator this month. But union officials say talks have stalled over salaries, class sizes, teacher prep time and interventions for struggling students.

In an effort to draw attention to contract issues, sign-waving teachers and their supporters packed Wednesday's school board meeting, with some parents and former students calling for a resolution.

Union President Patrick Escobedo said talks are approaching a "critical" stage. The Fenton Education Association represents more than 100 teachers, counselors, clinicians and other education professionals. The high school in Bensenville has 1,450 students.

"Nobody wants a strike. The teachers and students want to be in the classroom doing the wonderful magic that is education. The parents and community members who elected you want their kids in school, and you want that, too," Escobedo told school board members. "That is the most important thing we all agree on. Please take this time and correct the course of these negotiations before it is too late."

School board President Cary Lewis reiterated that district officials are cognizant of their "fiduciary responsibility" to taxpayers in Bensenville and Wood Dale.

"Yes, we have absolutely great teachers here," said Lewis, who's made similar comments over the summer. "We will continue to provide support ... to our teachers and provide a contract that's fair for both sides."

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Sept. 13, Superintendent James Ongtengco said. Negotiators have made progress, Ongtengco said Thursday, but he declined to elaborate.

"We are negotiating in good faith through the negotiation process, and we're not going to discuss details publicly," he said.

Teachers have said they used the district's financial data to develop a salary proposal that would also keep up with inflation.

"We also know the vital importance of fiduciary responsibility, which is why our salary proposal follows state-recommended best practices that prioritize the financial health of this district while still making Fenton a destination district that can attract and retain the best teachers," Escobedo said.

Fenton has a 95% teacher retention rate, Illinois State Board of Education data shows. The average salary for a Fenton teacher in 2022 was $109,110, according to the Illinois Report Card.

The board's last contract proposal would have teachers giving up "hundreds of hours" of their planning time to do internal, unpaid subbing assignments, union leaders say. Teachers use that time to meet with students and co-workers, to contact parents, to get feedback, to grade and to prepare lesson plans.

Union secretary Jennifer Selucky said her fellow special education teachers often use prep time to support the school's most vulnerable students. About 13% of Fenton's students had an individualized education plan in 2022, according to the state board of education.

Each special education teacher "has a caseload of at least 16 students who are entitled by law to an annual review meeting," said Selucky, who's part of the union's negotiating team. "These meetings are held during our prep time, and the reports take hours to write."

The union is also asking for limits on class sizes and for the district to commit to running the "Bison Orange" student intervention program for the next several years.

"We have been told at the table that the board of education would consider it, quote, 'a win' to remove the course from the contract," Escobedo said, "but our students win when they get the academic support that they need."