Key issues at heart of teacher contract dispute in Evergreen Park SD124
BY STEVE METSCH smetsch@southtownstar.com October 2, 2012 3:06PM
Jack Schaller, a kindergarten student at Southeast School, hugs his teacher Lisa Schleyer who was walking the picket line as teachers in Evergreen Park SD 124 went on strike Tuesday. | Larry Ruehl~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: November 4, 2012 6:19AM
Some of the bigger issues in the contract negotiations in Evergreen Park School District 124:
◆ The school board has offered a four-year contract while the teachers union seeks a three-year deal.
◆The board is offering pay raises, based on the Consumer Price Index, with bonuses based on student test scores. The raises would total 6.5 percent over four years before bonuses. The teachers want raises of at least 3 percent each year, and staunchly oppose basing bonuses on test scores.
◆The board, in an offer that expires at 5 p.m. Friday, has agreed to pay an extra 75 cents per hour to aides and secretaries for the first two years of the contract. The union wants raises of $1 per hour for each. The board would use the CPI to determine annual raises in years three and four, while the union wants raises of 30.7 percent and 24.6 percent, respectively, for those employees over a three-year contract.
◆The board would eliminate contributions to health reimbursement accounts while the teachers want a slight increase in the contributions.
Details of each side’s proposals can be found at www.d124.org.
