Board and Teachers Approve New Three-Year Contract

The Board of Education tonight ratified a new, three-year contract with its teachers’ association.  Using an innovative, interest based approach to bargaining, members of the Board/Administration and Wheaton Warrenville Education Association (WWEA) met by committee for more than three months to negotiate contract language before reaching tentative agreement late last month.  The WWEA voted to ratify the contract on May 12. 

Board members say the new contract provides competitive salaries, respects the work of teachers, and responds to the community’s expressed priority of hiring and retaining a highly qualified staff.

Base salary increases in the new contract are closely tied to the Consumer Price Index and will increase 3.3 percent in 2006, 3.2 percent in 2007, and 3.2 percent in 2008.  Beginning teachers will earn $37,853 in the first year of the contract and $40, 300 in the final year.

“This is a contract that is fair to our teachers and to our community,” Superintendent Gary T. Catalani said Wednesday.  “We are very appreciative of the positive environment in which we discussed and resolved issues of interest to both sides.”

WWEA President Lindy Greenlee agreed that the new way of bargaining worked well and credited the Board of Education’s continuing support of teachers as making a difference in how the association approached this year’s negotiations. 

One of the Board of Education’s three high priority goals for this year was to successfully complete negations with the WWEA before the end of the school year. 

In addition to base salary increases, the contract caps end-of-career raises to 6 percent a year, down from 20 percent in the previous contract.  This change was motivated by a new state law that was designed to keep school districts from inflating salaries in the final years of a teacher’s employment.  Teacher pensions in Illinois are based on the average of the teacher’s four highest paid years, usually those immediately prior to retirement. 

“The new contract provides a competitive package for teachers while protecting the District from incurring penalties imposed by the new law,” Greenlee said.

The contract addresses the intent of both groups to work collaboratively on issues of mutual interest through a District Leadership Team.  It also responds to the highest priorities expressed by the community during focus groups and a community survey conducted last year.  The results of both activities indicate that hiring and retaining a highly qualified staff is among the top three priorities the community has for its schools.  To that end, the contract provides for a stronger new teacher mentor program, a new teacher evaluation process, and an allocation of days for which teachers may pursue training opportunities at their own expense.  These days are in addition to District sponsored and required training conducted throughout the school year.

The Board and WWEA also agreed to tighten the rules and guidelines for earning credit for additional coursework and revise the pay schedule for those who work with students outside of the regular school day.   While there is no change in the percentage of the shared costs of insurance for teachers or the District, a revised reimbursement plan was negotiated to promote a greater emphasis on wellness and prevention.