District 211 school board approves 5-year teachers contract without dissent

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 school board members approved a new five-year teachers contract Thursday by a 5-0 vote.

Members Curtis Bradley and Tim McGowan were absent, but the rest voted in favor of the contract that will be in effect from July 1 this year through June 30, 2029.

During the coming school year, teachers still on the district’s 19-year step system will receive a 3.25% increase in their base salary while those beyond the step system will receive a 4% increase.

After that, annual increases will be tied to the Consumer Price Index, or rate of inflation.

During each of those next four years, the potential salary increases will have a floor of 1.5% but different ceilings. That ceiling will be 4% in year two, 3% in years three and four, and 2.75% in year five.

Board President Anna Klimkowicz praised the leadership on both sides of the negotiations, as well as the process that avoided the contentiousness in the spring of 2022 that resulted in only a two-year contract after the teachers union authorized a potential strike that was never implemented.

“All were committed to listening to one another and maintaining a dialogue,” Klimkowicz said of the more recent talks. “The five-year term of this contract and the hard work that went into it reflects the positive collaboration throughout the negotiation process. I am profoundly grateful to our administration, union leadership and staff for focusing on solutions in subcommittees as a first step before coming together for final discussions. This now allows us to move forward with a focus on our students and their futures.”

According to the state education board’s Illinois Report Card data, the average annual salary of a District 211 teacher in 2023 was $115,099.

The average salary was $73,916 statewide, including elementary and high school teachers.

But within District 211’s own suburban region, the average was $113,281 in Stevenson High School District 125, $125,472 in Maine Township High School District 207, and $115,812 in Northwest Suburban High School District 214.

The average salary last year in Barrington Area Unit School District 220 was $93,926 among its elementary, junior high and high school teachers.