Geneva teacher contract talks to resume Thursday

Contract negotiations will resume Thursday night between the Geneva school board and the union representing its teachers.

And if something isn't worked out, the two sides plan to meet again Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, as previously scheduled, according to a news release from the school district.

The teachers' contract expired in August. Negotiations began in February, although a salary committee has been negotiating for two years, according to the Geneva Education Association.

The union filed a call-for-posting of offers with the state Educational Labor Relations Board Oct. 2. That means both sides had to submit their offers to the state board, which will then publish them on its website. It had not done so as of noon Wednesday.

Union members also voted Sept. 30 to authorize leaders to call a strike. So far, the union has not given the required 10-day notice for a strike.

The school board said Oct. 10, via a release to news media, staff and parents, that it is offering each teacher a raise of $1,800 each year for the next three. The union has criticized that move, saying the district published it just 40 minutes after presenting its offer to the union's president.

Union members also submitted 350 letters at a school board meeting Oct. 9. According to the union, some said teachers were working second jobs and even selling blood plasma to supplement their income.

According to the 2017 Illinois school report cards, the average teacher salary in Geneva was $68,322. That was the second-highest among the nine unit school districts in Kane County. Batavia was the highest, at $77,820, and Central was the lowest, at $56,289.

Geneva had the highest teacher-retention rate at 91 percent; the lowest was Central, at 82 percent. Report card data for the 2017-18 school year will be released by the state on Oct. 31.