Labor Update: Bourbonnais SD 53 Teachers Strike
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Date PostedMarch 4, 2021
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CategoryNews
Teachers in Bourbonnais SD 53 have gone on strike on the morning of March 4.
An agreement was not reached between the district and the Bourbonnais Education Association (BEA), during a four-hour mediation session on March 3, during which the board had hoped to avoid a strike by increasing an offer to 9.5% in salary increases for all teachers over three years during a pandemic. The BEA refused this offer.
The board’s statement said, “The Board is responsible for ensuring the financial stability of the District long beyond a single contract with the BEA. We know that your children, our students, have already lost so much in the last two years. The thought of our students losing any more instructional time is extremely upsetting. We are anxious to get back to the bargaining table and resolve this as soon as the BEA is willing to meet.”
The school board and BEA have been in negotiations for 11 months. The board’s previous offer includes a step and lane structure, additional possible compensation in bonuses, maintaining health insurance contributions and retirement incentives for current teachers, and continued individual and team planning time. The district serves 2,500 students in five schools. The BEA represents 166 teachers.
An agreement was not reached between the district and the Bourbonnais Education Association (BEA), during a four-hour mediation session on March 3, during which the board had hoped to avoid a strike by increasing an offer to 9.5% in salary increases for all teachers over three years during a pandemic. The BEA refused this offer.
The board’s statement said, “The Board is responsible for ensuring the financial stability of the District long beyond a single contract with the BEA. We know that your children, our students, have already lost so much in the last two years. The thought of our students losing any more instructional time is extremely upsetting. We are anxious to get back to the bargaining table and resolve this as soon as the BEA is willing to meet.”
The school board and BEA have been in negotiations for 11 months. The board’s previous offer includes a step and lane structure, additional possible compensation in bonuses, maintaining health insurance contributions and retirement incentives for current teachers, and continued individual and team planning time. The district serves 2,500 students in five schools. The BEA represents 166 teachers.
