District 202, Teachers’ Union Agree on Contract

The District 202 board and the school’s teachers union have agreed to a new, four-year contract that includes salary increases for teachers and no change in the number of teachers. 

On Monday night, the board of education approved the contract in a 5-0 vote, according to a press release from the district. The Evanston Township Teachers’ Council had already ratified the contract with 88 percent approval of its 252 members on Wednesday, June 6. 

The new, four-year contract goes into effect on July 1 and expires in June of 2016. School officials say that in light of the current environmental climate, the contract includes sacrifices by both the district and faculty. 

“This four-year contract reflects the hard work and commitment of the two negotiating teams to construct and agree on a fair and affordable settlement during tight economic times,” Superintendent Eric Witherspoon said in the release.

The first year of teacher salaries will be frozen at 2011-12 wages, with no step increases based on years of experience, according to the press release. Faculty will receive a one-time payout of $1,500, however. Under the second year of the contract, faculty will receive a 1 percent increase to the base of the salary schedule, plus step increases.

Increases based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) kick in during the last three years of the contract, with 50 percent CPI in the year three and 75 percent CPI in year four. Teachers will also receive step increases in both those years. 

All told, the increases will raise teacher salaries by an average of 2.67 percent over four years.

"I believe that we were able to reach an agreement that honors both the tremendous work of our talented faculty and enables the district to maintain a fiscally responsible budget over the next several years given the current economic realities," Teachers’ Council president Bill Farmer said in the release.