District 113 Approves New 5-Year Teacher Contract

The following is from District 113:

At a special meeting held this afternoon [Tuesday], the Township High School District 113 Board of Education unanimously voted to approve a new five-year contract with the District Education Association (DEA), the professional organization for the District’s 300 certified staff members. The new contract agreement, which replaces a two-year contract, will run through June 2019.  

Board of Education President Marjie Sandlow thanked the DEA and District Administration for their collaborative work to reach this agreement, stating, “This five-year agreement will allow for critical long-term educational and financial planning. It maintains District 113’s competitive salary structure, while assuring fiscal stability for the District and its taxpayers.”  

Under the terms of the new contract, individual teachers will continue to receive step-and-lane salary increases based on their professional experience and additional educational credentials earned during the contract duration. In addition, District 113 teachers will receive a base salary increase of 1 percent each in 2014-15 and 2015-16. In subsequent years, teachers’ salary increases will be based on the consumer price index (CPI), an annual index that reflects the variation in prices paid by typical consumers for retail goods and other items. District 113 teachers will receive base salary increases equivalent to 70 percent of CPI in 2016-2017, 75 percent of CPI in 2017-18, and 100 percent of CPI in 2018-19.  

DEA President Marty Esgar emphasized the benefits and importance of collaboration in reaching this agreement, stating, “While the process can be difficult at times, the focus of DEA centers around improving the wages and working conditions of certified staff so that the work we do in the classrooms with students can be the best possible! Our school district is successful only when the staff, students, parents, community members, administrators and Board all unite around a common purpose and work effectively together. DEA always strives to do its part well.”  

The new contract also controls the cost of health care premiums for both the District and its teachers by agreeing to utilize health fund reserves or make plan changes if/when necessary in order to attempt to keep premiums at or below the 2013-2014 rates. Highland Park High School special education teacher and DEA spokesperson Paul Harris noted that the District and its teachers have a history of working together to address such matters, stating, “Over the years, we have developed a high degree of trust in managing our health care plans. We have been excellent stewards of these funds and work together, along with our advisors, to solve challenges.”  

District 113 Superintendent George Fornero also applauded the ability of the Board, District Administration and the DEA to work together to find common ground, stating, “I appreciate the unique, highly professional working relationship of our teachers and the Board.”