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Shorter elementary school days part of new St. Charles Dist. 303 teacher contract

The St. Charles School District 303 board has approved a four-year labor pact with its teachers union, a deal that includes gradual raises for teachers and, eventually, a shorter elementary school day.

The four-year contract was ratified by the union, the St. Charles Education Association, on May 23. The school board approved it Thursday.

The contract will go into effect in the 2023-2024 school year, and last through the 2026-2027 school year.

Under the deal, teachers' wage increases will be based off the Consumer Price Index of each year. Teachers will receive a raise of CPI plus 0.5% in each of the first two years, and CPI plus 1% for each of the final two years.

The elementary school day also will be shortened by 40 minutes starting in the contract's second year. The current elementary school day is seven hours. Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, the elementary day will be six hours and 20 minutes.

The amount of daily total instructional time for students will not change in core curricular areas (literacy, math, science, social studies) but will reduce the classroom time for subjects outside the core areas.

In a news release, SCEA President Jennifer Adam said that due to unanticipated inflation and the impact of increased salary expenditures, the district will need to reduce the number of art, music and physical education teachers in the 2024-2025 school year.

Administrators said the number of art, music and P.E. teachers that will be impacted is not yet known.

The administration will provide more details regarding start/end times for all levels for the 2024-2025 school year once they have been finalized, officials said.

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