Dist. 131 teachers, staff reject latest proposed contract

Teachers and staff of East Aurora Unit District 131 will return to the negotiating table after they rejected their third proposed contract Friday.

The union members and school officials have the next 28 days to talk further to resolve issues involving salary, insurance and support staff pay cuts before a strike could happen, said Alan Scott, an English teacher and union building representative at East High School.

"We want to make this a district to work in for our entire lives, and make it sustainable for everyone," Scott said. "But so far that hasn't happened."

School Board President Annette Johnson said that while they are "disappointed" with the vote, they will continue to meet with the union.

"We realize our teachers are underpaid compared to other school districts, but our district is heavily reliant on state aid. Since 2012, we've lost $38 million in state aid payment."

On Friday, 694 members voted to reject and 615 voted in favor of the latest proposed contract. All of the union members have been working without a contract since October 2014. District 131 has 25 schools with 1,372 union members, who include office staff, support staff and teachers. One contract represents all the groups.

The next step would be to continue negotiations during the next 28 days. If nothing is reached, the teachers could announce a strike. A strike vote was already authorized by the membership last December, Scott said.

If another contract offer is made, it would be posted publicly and submitted to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board for approval.

Scott described the district as 90 percent Hispanic and 5 percent African American and "clearly underserved."

"We love our work here and we're proud of what we do here," he said. "But many teachers stay a few years and then leave because it's a poor district. We need to make it a district where we can work here our entire life and make it sustainable for all of us."