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The next time a union contract is negotiated in Community Unit School District 140, it would be nice to get it resolved before the academic year begins.
Other than that, the Congerville-Eureka-Goodfield School Board president had little complaint about the contract her group approved Monday night during its October meeting.
“As with any negotiation, both sides have to give a little. Sometimes they give a lot,” Teri Ehrenhardt said with a laugh. “But I think we had an open and honest conversation and dialogue.”
The 6-0 vote — board member Chad Leman was absent — formalized an agreement reached Sept. 15 with the Congerville-Eureka-Goodfield Education Association.
Neither Ehrenhardt nor Randy Crump, the district superintendent, had exact figures, but both said more than 100 union members voted to approve the deal that runs through the 2013-14 academic year. Fewer than 10 voted to reject it, they said.
The union represents about 200 members. Certified teachers had been working without a contract since Aug. 18, and support staff had been doing so since June 30.
Under the terms of the contract, pay raises for certified staff will range between 3 percent and 4 percent each year, Crump said. Raises for support staff would be a maximum of 4 percent in the first year, then will increase by 3.5 percent in 2012-13 and 3 percent in 2013-14.
This negotiation was complicated by the merger of two unions that had been representing district employees — one union for certified personnel, another for support staff.
“What looked overwhelming in the beginning — how do you combine those contracts? — we accomplished that,” said Ehrenhardt, who was among the school-district representatives on the negotiation committee.
The next time a union contract is negotiated in Community Unit School District 140, it would be nice to get it resolved before the academic year begins.
Other than that, the Congerville-Eureka-Goodfield School Board president had little complaint about the contract her group approved Monday night during its October meeting.
“As with any negotiation, both sides have to give a little. Sometimes they give a lot,” Teri Ehrenhardt said with a laugh. “But I think we had an open and honest conversation and dialogue.”
The 6-0 vote — board member Chad Leman was absent — formalized an agreement reached Sept. 15 with the Congerville-Eureka-Goodfield Education Association.
Neither Ehrenhardt nor Randy Crump, the district superintendent, had exact figures, but both said more than 100 union members voted to approve the deal that runs through the 2013-14 academic year. Fewer than 10 voted to reject it, they said.
The union represents about 200 members. Certified teachers had been working without a contract since Aug. 18, and support staff had been doing so since June 30.
Under the terms of the contract, pay raises for certified staff will range between 3 percent and 4 percent each year, Crump said. Raises for support staff would be a maximum of 4 percent in the first year, then will increase by 3.5 percent in 2012-13 and 3 percent in 2013-14.
This negotiation was complicated by the merger of two unions that had been representing district employees — one union for certified personnel, another for support staff.
“What looked overwhelming in the beginning — how do you combine those contracts? — we accomplished that,” said Ehrenhardt, who was among the school-district representatives on the negotiation committee.
