Geneva school board, union continue contract negotiations

Despite meeting for more than four hours Friday, the District 304 school board and the Geneva Education Association made little progress, the school district announced on its website Friday evening.

The two sides met with a federal mediator; two more sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Tuesday, Oct. 30.

According to the district, the salary and benefits proposal provided by the union is similar to what it already presented on Sept. 6 and Oct. 2, but "it did contain some proposed language and process revisions," the website said.

The union now is proposing a three-year contract instead of the four-year pact previously offered.

The board says it now has increased its salary offer to $1,800 per teacher, per year - an increase of $2.5 million over the life of the contract - in addition to the roughly $4.6 million paid by the board on behalf of teachers and their dependents for health, medical and life insurance.

"The GEA's latest offer is based on the sacrifices teachers have made over the past six years as the district restructured its debt," union President Kevin Gannon said Friday in a written statement. "We strongly believe that this is what we need to attract and retain quality teachers and to be competitive with the other school district's in Kane County. The first potential day we could go out on strike is now November 13. We sincerely hope that we will reach a fair solution for both sides before then. We want nothing more than to be in our classrooms doing what we do best, working with the students of Geneva 304."

Both the board and union have until Tuesday to submit their most current offers to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board for public posting on Oct. 30.