CPS, Bourbonnais Negotiate with Teachers

The Bourbonnais SD 53 school board and the Bourbonnais Education Association (BEA), after 10 months, of negotiations, have offers posted at the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board website.

A session is scheduled with a federal mediator on February 11. The first possible strike date is February 19. According to a board statement, its offer “reflects its responsibility to be prudent with taxpayer money and acknowledges the financial realities of this pandemic.”

The board’s offer includes a step and lane structure, representing a nearly 7% increase over three years additional possible compensation in bonuses, maintains the existing health insurance contributions and retirement incentives for current teachers, and includes individual and team planning time. The district serves 2,500 students in five schools. The BEA represents 166 teachers.

The coronavirus pandemic and the return to in-person learning are factors in the ongoing dispute between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools. As of February 5, CPS has made a final offer to CTU on a reopening plan. CPS elementary students were scheduled to return to classrooms on February 8, but members of the teachers union determined to continue remote learning until more could be vaccinated. CPS educates approximately 340,000 students in 629 schools. CTU represents over 25,000 educators. CPS is the nation’s third-largest school district.