Naperville School District 203 teachers are hoping to work out a new contract in bargaining talks being held this week, but could strike as early as Monday if negotiations fail, union representatives said.
“No one wants to strike,” said Ross Berkley, president of the Naperville Unit Education Association, or NUEA, whose 1,500 members started the school year without a contract in place.
For the second time in two weeks, teachers rallied at the Monday school board meeting in support of a fair contract. Their existing contract expired June 30 despite bargaining sessions starting in February.
An evening rally and march from Naperville Central High School to the district administration building was cut short due to thunderstorms, but teachers, parents and students spoke for more than two hours during the public comment section of the meeting asking for a fair contract.
More than 40 people addressed the board and district administration, asking them to give teachers the respect they say they are due and noting that Naperville is a destination city for parents who want to give their children a high quality education. Many teachers said staff morale is low, and others cited the district’s messaging as vilifying teachers and breaking down trust.
Earlier Monday, board President Charles Cush released a video on the status of negotiations.
The district’s offer is competitive with raises across four years, including a compounded raise over 10% in the first two years, with continued health benefits, Cush said. The proposal ensures district teachers are among the highest compensated in the region, he said.
“But we must be honest about our finances,” Cush said. “The union’s proposal is currently not sustainable. If we were to accept their proposal, our board would have to make tough choices that would directly impact you and your families. This isn’t about numbers on a page. It’s about the very real risk of having to reduce staff and cut valued student programs. It’s about protecting the long-term educational excellence we’ve all worked so hard to build. It could require us to pursue a tax increase, placing a new burden on our community.”
Berkley said the district’s message was disingenuous and doesn’t acknowledge that the district failed to collect all the taxes that the community voted in favor of and transferred money to pay off their debt from the education fund. The district has a surplus they spend on tax relief and one-time capital projects and has more than 300 days of cash on hand, nearly twice the amount recommended by the Illinois State Board of Education.
“Naperville is a vibrant, intelligent community, and they’re able to see when they are being gaslit,” Berkley said.
Kathy Mullin, a learning behavior specialist department chair at Madison Junior High School and a Naperville taxpayer, said the district’s actions amount to a “circus stunt.”
“As a taxpayer, please stop giving our tax money back to us and then crying poor after you do so,” she said. “Those of us who live in the district and moved into the district knew exactly what we were signing up for when we moved here, and we expect our tax dollars to be collected for the school district and for that to be spent on students and teachers. You don’t earn any favor in our eyes by sending us a tax abatement check.”
Union leadership said the district has given nearly $37 million back to the taxpayers in abatements and refunds over the last several years. It is also falling behind other school districts in offering competitive salaries, which makes it more difficult to attract and retain educators.
Berkley said the video message also didn’t address the Innovative School Experience proposal, which was tabled in April after an outcry from teachers, parents and students. The proposal calls for changes to the start and end of school days at all levels, creates a longer school day for elementary school students, and switches to a block schedule for junior high and high school students. The plan has not been approved but is expected to be revisited.
Amy Vogelsang, an English Learners teacher at Naperville North High School, said she is disappointed with the tone the district has taken in negotiations and charged the district is trying to “back door a blank check” for the proposal into the contract.
“People who value educators do not publicly denigrate them with implications of greed, lack of understanding or lack of care for students,” she said. “People bargaining in good faith do not send threats of layoffs, tax hikes and revocation of benefits. … The district has weaponized its ability to reach out directly to the community to paint a distorted picture of the Naperville Unit Education Association.”
Lynne Hanley, a social studies teacher at Naperville Central High School, said the district has implemented several new initiatives since the last contentious contract negotiations four years ago and that has added to the workload of teachers. If the district moves forward with the Innovative School Experience and changes to block schedule, teachers would have to recreate their lesson plans to fit into a new framework, she said.
“If that’s important to you and you need our labor to do it, pay us to do it,” she said. “And if you can’t pay us to do it, you might consider taking the block schedule off the table and allow us to continue to deliver the excellent education that they are giving us Blue Ribbons for. … If we are delivering the excellent education that this district provides, we deserve to be fairly compensated for our efforts.”
Parents and students rallied on behalf of the teachers.
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Parent Colleen Myerscough said the teachers are the “lifeblood of the schools,” and the district needs teachers who want to show up for work, not who want to leave.
Amelia Polheber, a mother of three children, noted that her family moved out of Naperville for a job opportunity but returned because of its quality education.
“This district is phenomenal because of its teachers,” she said. “These educators have a genuine concern for our students’ well-being.”
Gavin George, a senior at Naperville Central High School, said a strike would disrupt students’ learning, especially in Advanced Placement classes where tests are scheduled in the spring, and fall sports where many students hope for a college scholarship. He said the teachers in the district work hard.
Rob Hunt, a Lincoln Junior High School language arts teacher and member of the NUEA executive board, said five of the last six contracts have settled with the help of a federal mediator.
“Our ask is both reasonable and affordable,” he said. “Let me be clear. Our educators do not want to strike. Not one of them. … When teachers thrive, students thrive and our entire community that we all love thrives.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.