Dist. 300 teachers to vote on contract Wednesday
Carpentersville-based Community Unit District 300 teachers will vote Wednesday on a three-year contract union and district officials have been negotiating for almost a year.
The LEAD 300 union waged a one-day strike Dec. 4 that was called off when bargaining teams reached a tentative agreement. No details on the deal are being released, but offers leading up to the strike included salary increases between 2 and 3 percent and caps on class sizes neither side could agree on.
Union spokesman Mike Williamson said the bargaining team presented the proposed contract to members Sunday. The team answered questions but the meeting was not a forum for debate, he said.
The contract would cover the current academic year through 2014-2015. Union members will vote on the labor agreement Wednesday in their individual buildings with ballot results to be announced that night.
Union and district leaders are expected to release details of the proposed contract after both sides vote. Joe Stevens, a school board member and district spokesman for negotiations, said the board has tentatively scheduled a special meeting for Thursday.
The day before the strike, negotiations broke down when union and district bargaining teams could not come to an agreement on compensation and class size. The district offered a 3 percent salary increase in the first and third years of the contract and a 2 percent raise for the second year while the union was pushing for 3 percent each year. Teachers also wanted class sizes capped at fewer students than the district would accept as part of a broader package.
Williamson said the details are not being discussed publicly because there is no guarantee the contract will be approved by both sides.
“If it does not ratify, we have to go back to the table,” Williamson said.
The union has about 3,100 members and includes teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, speech language pathologists and school nurses.