Negotiations progress in D-158

HUNTLEY – After District 158 teachers recently filed an intent-to-strike notice over contract negotiations, school board members offered to “sweeten the deal.”

The board offered another counterproposal to the union’s latest offer, which had included a first-year increase of less than 10 percent in salary, health benefits, and retirement. Though both sides said this week’s negotiations had been productive, board President Shawn Green would not disclose details on the latest discussions.

 “I’ll say that we definitely made an already fair offer even more sweet,” Green said Wednesday. “We stand by that [the initial offer] was a fair deal to begin with – that was very close to what our top out would be – but we did sweeten the deal a bit.”

Negotiations between the school board and 577-member Huntley Education Association have been ongoing since February. The teachers union had filed a 10-day intent-to-strike notice earlier this week, but representatives have said they would act on it only as a last resort.

“Both sides I think are still committed to working together and trying to settle this agreement,” union spokeswoman Britt Crowe said.

Crowe acknowledged that board members had offered another counterproposal but also would not go into details.

“We are continuing to work with them,” she said.

The board first responded to the union’s request by claiming that the plan would boost costs more than 30 percent over the next three years. Union representatives have argued that their proposal would not cause deficit spending or budget cuts.

Both sides said they hoped to have the issues settled and a contract in place by the time classes start Aug. 25.

However, Green said, they don’t have specific goals to close the deal this week since the original deadline – June 30, when teachers’ contracts expired – already has passed.

“That is pretty fluid,” Green said. “Once negotiating teams come to a tentative agreement, then the union has to have a meeting to vote on it, and the board has to have a meeting to vote on it. But that can be scheduled how either side deems fit.”

The next negotiations meeting will be at 3 p.m. Friday.