Class sizes dominate U-46 contract session

A 13-hour negotiating session between Elgin Area School District U-46 officials and teachers on Saturday focused almost exclusively on the issue of class size, according to a recent union update to members.

The marathon session was part of ongoing teacher contract negotiations between the state's second-largest school system and the state's second-largest teachers union.

Teachers and parents alike complained frequently last year about large class sizes at all grade levels.

U-46 agreed for the 2007-08 school year to adjust its target class size for kindergarten, first and second grade to 28, down from 30.

But administrators declined to implement a solution demanded by many parents -- a class size cap --saying it was a logistical impossibility.

Under the expired teacher employment contract, the district must offer a full-time assistant for kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms with 35 students or more.

The expired contract also calls for an oversight committee of union and district appointees who receive and evaluate class size issues at the middle and high school levels.

The committee, according to the contract, can make recommendations to administration regarding possible solutions to eliminate excessive class sizes.

Union and district officials have not released any specific details about the class size discussion during this round of negotiations.

Bargaining teams also convened Sunday to begin tackling financial matters such as retirement, salary and sick leave, according to the union update.

"Over the 16 bargaining sessions conceptual agreement has been reached on multiple issues," the update said. "Contractual language has yet to be finalized."

The three-year agreement inked before the 2003-04 school year expired Aug. 19.

Teachers are working under the terms of the expired contract.