Bensenville Dist. 2, teachers reach tentative 5-year pact

Bensenville Elementary District 2 and its teachers union tentatively have agreed on a five-year contract that immediately will increase teachers salaries.

The proposed pact, retroactive to the start of this school year, calls for raises of 5 percent, 5.5 percent and 5.25 percent in the first three years of the agreement. Raises in the final two years will range from 3 percent to 5 percent, depending on the rate of inflation.

The teachers bargaining team presented the proposal to the district's negotiating team on April 6 and the district accepted it Tuesday afternoon. Teachers are scheduled to vote on the tentative agreement next week and, if it's approved, the school board will consider it in a special meeting later this month.

The contract will run through the 2021-22 school year.

Teachers choosing select insurance plans will pay higher shares of their premiums, according to a joint statement from the district and union, with the new shares coming closer to what teachers pay in neighboring DuPage County school districts.

Officials say the contract will fit within the district's budget without new taxes thanks to additional revenue, the health insurance changes, and staffing changes made last year.

The union's roughly 190 teachers have been working under terms of a contract that expired at the start of the school year.

The two sides spent roughly 18 months negotiating the new pact.

Teachers received annual pay increases of 2.25 percent from 2012 through 2014. They received annual 4 percent increases from 2015 through 2017.