Geneva teachers contract talks to resume Friday

Geneva school district and teachers union representatives will meet again Friday to work on a new contract for the teachers.

The two sides met for six hours Tuesday.

“It was a constructive conversation,” school board President Mark Grosso said Wednesday in a prepared statement.

The Geneva Education Association and the district have been negotiating since February. The old contract expired Aug. 15, and the two sides are using a federal mediator in negotiations.

On Oct. 12 the union declared negotiations were at an impasse, triggering a state requirement for both sides to submit their offers to the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board and to post those offers. The union has already posted its offer at gea4students.org. The school district submitted its offer to the GEA Oct. 19 but has yet to post it, and must do so by Friday.

The union's offer calls for 1 percent overall increases in the salary schedule, plus continuing automatic raises as teachers accumulate seniority and complete postgraduate work. The posted offer did not specify percentage increases for the automatic raises, but Grosso said Tuesday the union is asking for 2.65 percent each for both step and lane increases up to a master's degree.

Union members Oct. 17 authorized leadership to call a strike. The union has not, however, filed an intent-to-strike notice.