5-year contract for Kaneland teachers
A tentative deal has been reached for a new five-year contract for teachers in Kaneland District 302.
The district and the Kaneland Education Association announced the agreement Tuesday morning. They won't release details about the contract, however, until union members and the school board ratify the contract. The dates for the votes were not announced.
The previous contract expired June 30.
The two sides negotiated for several months before bringing in a federal mediator at the end of June.
"The BOE (board of education) and KEA would like to thank the members of the bargaining team for their time, effort and energy in developing a fair and fiscally responsible contract," the news release said.
Besides teachers, the contract will cover social workers, librarians and school psychologists.
Union members rallied before the June 24 school board meeting and held up small signs during the session. Their president told the board teachers had made sacrifices over the past 10 years, including taking a pay freeze and smaller raises than they wanted to help the district financially.
That same night, Associate Superintendent Julie-Ann Fuchs announced there was an unforeseen $2.7 million surplus in the budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Teachers reiterated their point at a special board meeting July 9, where Fuchs gave more details as to why the surplus happened: higher revenue than anticipated, less spending by building principals, and some special education bills that had not been received by the end of the year.
The district's six schools serve students from Aurora, Cortland, Elburn, Kaneville, Maple Park, Montgomery, North Aurora, Sugar Grove and Virgil.