Votes Thursday For Teachers' Contract "Freeze" At D158

The District 158 Board the Huntley Education Association teachers' union are both scheduled to vote Thursday on a new teachers' contract announced late Tuesday.  According to a joint announcement, both sides have agreed to a "hard freeze" contract for the new year.

Negotiators have been meeting for six months to hammer out a new agreement to replace the one that ran out in June.  An effective salary freeze was implicit, however, in the tentative 2011-12 budget the School Board approved at about the same time.

"This is what we hoped for, especially since (teachers salaries) are the biggest expenditure we have in our budget," said Board Finance Committee Chairman Tony Quagliano.  "It's what we've asked of our other contract employees."

The joint release said "contract language is now being finalized" ahead of Thursday's vote.  Quagliano told FEN the tentative terms don't actually freeze the last contract's steps and lanes by which teachers can increase their salaries. They've been adjusted, he said, so they'll result in "no net increase" in total expenditures.