Naperville District 203 teachers ratify new contract; final approval pending

Naperville Unit District 203 teachers have ratified a new contract offered by the district, according to a statement from the Naperville Unit Education Association.

The contract will go into effect if the school board gives its final approval at Tuesday's meeting.

"Until then," the NUEA statement read, "the NUEA is not authorized to share the details of the agreement to the press or the public at large."

The union filed an intent-to-strike notice with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board that would have allowed teachers to go on strike as early as Aug. 25. On Aug. 23, however, union and district officials reached a tentative agreement on a new contract that kept teachers in the classroom.

According to Union President Dan Iverson, 86 percent of the membership voted in favor of ratification. After working under one-year contracts each of the last two years, the teachers approved a four-year contract, Iverson said.

"You always want everyone on board, but at the end of the day you understand why people voted the way they did," Iverson said. "Moving forward from here is something we're all excited about."

Two main points of contention during months of negotiations were additional compensation for the district's "Multi-Tiered System of Support" program and parental and family leave.

"The NUEA is hopeful that the Board will ratify the agreement on Tuesday," the NUEA statement read. "If the agreement is not ratified, we will let the community know our next step (at nuea203.org)."