Schools
D41 Board of Education Approves Teacher Contract Through 2016
Moving forward teachers will receive increases based on the consumer price index plus a 1.5 percent component.
Teachers in Glen Ellyn District 41 will now be compensated based on the consumer price index rather than on a stepped salary schedule.
The District 41 Board of Education has approved a new four-year contract with the Glen Ellyn Education Association. The new contract will run from 2012 through 2016. Teachers approved the contract on Feb. 7 and the board ratified it at its business meeting Monday night.
Teachers annual salary increases will be tied to the consumer price index plus a 1.5 percent “component” for teachers who are rated proficient or excellent under the district’s teacher evaluation system, according to District 41.
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With both the CPI and 1.5 percent component applied, increases for the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years are 3 percent, 3.8 percent and 3 percent, respectively, according to District 41.
“GEEA [Glen Ellyn Education Association] members are pleased to have a new agreement ratified after having worked for more than half of this school year without a contract,” Brian Bonkowski, Hadley teacher and member of the GEEA negotiating team said in a District 41 news release. “It was an honor for our team to represent professional educators who show such dedication to their students.”
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In addition, health insurance and retirement benefits were also a large part of the bargaining discussion, the district said. The district health insurance program will continue with teachers making modest contribution increases toward benefits and premiums, the district said. Retirement benefits were also maintained, but payments will be made on a post-retirement basis.
“We have strong labor-management relationships and those really helped us to reach an agreement that not only addressed the usual employee-employer components but set the stage for the district’s continued progress as a learning community,” Superintendent Ann Riebock said about the year-long negotiation process.
The district said another aspect to the agreement will be to enhance the district’s continuous improvement process, putting more focus on development and implementation of a 21st century learning environment. And, in doing so, the district said the work of the district’s current Think Tank would transition into the improvement process established in the agreement.
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