The new four-year contract for Naperville School District 203 teachers includes average annual raises of 3.6% in the first year and 2.9% in the second, longevity payments and a one-time $1,000 “appreciation” bonus.
Approved by the District 203 School Board Monday night, the deal also calls for expanded family leave time for the birth of adoption of a child — something the Naperville Unit Education Association fought for — and temporary increased sick days for COVID-19.
Pay increases will be retroactive to June, when the previous contract expired, and all of the changes go into effect immediately.
The bonus payment, which initially the district proposed being $300, is a way of acknowledging the additional work teachers have had to do as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Superintendent Dan Bridges said.
“It’s just a reflection of the two sides looking creatively at ways to compensate our teachers competitively but being able to ensure we are able to maintain our expenses long term,” Bridges said. “By kind of a one-time payment, we’re recognizing the considerable effort our staff put into last year and a half and are going to have put into this year with all the challenges regarding COVID-19.
“We value and respect the work that our educators do on a daily basis and we’re just grateful that we were able to come to an agreement. I’m glad we’re there,” Bridges added.
Contract negotiations began in January, and were so difficult that a federal mediator was brought in to help bring the two sides together. A union vote to authorize a strike was taken but ultimately the walkout was unnecessary.
“We’re pleased we have four years of stability here,” union President Dan Iverson said. “We got a lot of things that we deserve, a lot of things that we were after and that will make life better for staff members throughout the district.”
Pay increases are tied to the annual consumer price index, which gauges inflation. Teachers will receive a raise that averages about 3.64% this school year, 2.92% in the 2022-23 school year and will be based on 67% of the consumer price index increase the last two years.
Any teacher on the last “step” of the district’s step-and-lane salary schedule will be moved up one level, according to the deal. After the first contract year, teachers who are on the last step will receive a longevity payment of up to $900, but no more than 100% of the consumer price index.
Iverson said the pay increases, additional payments for veteran teachers and bonuses address the union’s concerns about the workload increase tied to the district’s adoption of the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.
Sick days for this year only will increase from 15 to 20 in case a teacher should need to quarantine because of the coronavirus.
“We may have to do that again depending on how long COVID-19 sticks around so we’ll see,” Iverson said. “But God forbid, I don’t want to keep dealing with that again.”
As a result of the five extra sick days, union members will be allowed to accumulate 365 sick days over the course of their time with District 203, up from 360.
The contract also:
Limits the number of required meetings elementary teachers take for planning;
Allows junior high school educators to better support supervised study;
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Allows high school teachers to adjust their schedule time for intervention or homeroom support up to two days per week.
Board President Kristin Fitzgerald lauded the deal the two sides reached.
“We believe the contract is a result of a collaborative effort on behalf of the NUEA, Naperville 203 Board and our administration,” she said. “It values our highly qualified educators and is financially sustainable allowing us to work together over the next four years to continue to provide an excellent education for all students all within our financial means.”