A new four-year contract for members of the Naperville Unit Education Association, approved unanimously Wednesday by Naperville District 203 School Board, calls for the current school day structure to remain as is and the annual base salary to increase between at least 2% and 3.85%.
The ratification ends several contentious weeks during which members of the teacher’s union overwhelmingly voted to strike after teachers started the school year without a contract and bargaining sessions failed to produce results.
Union representatives announced a strike would begin Aug. 26, but a tentative agreement reached Aug. 22 allowed classes to go on as scheduled.
Members of the NUEA, the union that represents more than 1,500 teachers, voted in favor of the new contract. With the board’s approval now secured, the new agreement, retroactive to July 1, is official.
“We continue to be extremely humbled by, and grateful for, all the support from our Naperville 203 community. Thank you for standing with us as we stood up for our students and their education,” NUEA President Ross Berkley said in a statement. “We are glad our new contract is ratified so we can put this behind us and focus on moving forward together with our students, our community and all of our stakeholders.”
The contract addresses teacher’s pay and the school schedule, which were among the sticking points over the last several months. The teacher’s union and the district had been bargaining since February.
District officials agreed to the union’s request that the current school day structure not change, a NUEA news release said.
“Together with the community, we ensured that our students will continue to benefit from the school day structure that has long supported both learning and our community, maintaining the consistency and support our teachers provide,” Berkley said.
“Our efforts also secured more competitive wages for our hardworking educators, who are committed to building strong students, strong schools and a strong community.”
The contract includes an annual base salary increase of 3.85% in year one, 2.5% in year two and at least 2% in years three and four, the latter dependent on the consumer price index, which could exceed 2%, the union said.
Over the term of the deal, annual salary increases will result in a compounded average raise of at least 19.67%, District 203 officials said in a news release.
The district also agreed to increasing hourly rates for additional duties like professional learning, curriculum development and summer teaching by $3 per hour, and the rate for internal substitution increases, which will go from $29 an hour to $48 an hour.
Licensed employees will receive three additional sick days — from 15 to 18 days — starting in their 21st year of service, the district said.
“With this contract approved, our focus is squarely back on our mission: providing an outstanding education for every student,” Superintendent Dan Bridges said in the district’s release. “This agreement establishes a solid foundation for our educators to continue their essential work, and we are ready to move forward and build on that success together.”
Several board members Wednesday extended their thanks to the bargaining teams who worked long hours to reach a deal.
“What makes this district great is really everybody working together at the end of the day in the best interest of the students,” board member Marc Willensky said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.