The healing can now begin.
The North Chicago Teachers Union and school board Monday night announced they had reached agreement on a new 3-year contract that will carry employees in the troubled District 187 through June 30, 1998.
The announcement, which came during the board’s regular meeting, finally exorcised the demons that have been lingering since a bitter, nearly seven-week-long teacher strike in 1993.
The new deal, which includes raises of 5 percent each year for the next three years, including an approximate 2 to 3 percent seniority or “step” increase for each year, was overwhelmingly approved by union membership last week. The board followed suit with a 6-0 vote.
With the approval of the contract, both sides said they now agree that a new spirit of trust and cooperation has developed.
“This agreement marks the beginning of a new era in employee relations,” said Supt. James Harris. “By sharing our thoughts and goals for the years ahead, the parties were able to work in a spirit of true cooperation. The real winners will be the students and community that we are here to serve.”
While admittedly pleased, some school officials are still waiting for the district’s two majority financiers-the state and federal government-to come through.
Impact aid funding for the nearly 1,800 military dependents who live on the neighboring Great Lakes Naval Training Center base and attend schools in North Chicago has not yet been approved. The federal government reimburses school districts for educating students from military bases within their boundaries because the bases are property-tax exempt. Property taxes are the lifeblood of most school districts.
And the amount of state aid the district will receive for the upcoming 1995-96 school year still hinges on the final budget Gov. Jim Edgar approves, presumably within the next few weeks.
Until then, the future of the nearly 3,900 students in kindergarten through 12th grade in North Chicago United School District 187 looks brighter than it did two years ago when it faced dissolution in the face of a $1.6 million deficit. The district now has nearly $4 million in the bank.
Last month the school board voted to restore several classes like multicultural literature, journalism, home economics and wood shop. Also, instrumental music, which is now limited to the high school, will be extended to elementary and junior high school.
“I feel a lot better knowing that I don’t have to worry about a strike interrupting school again next year, and that we should have more classes to choose from,” said sophomore Essence Lindsey, 15, as she and Kelia Parson, 16, left North Chicago Community High School for summer vacation.
“It’s great that they are bringing back so many programs, because that means we will be better prepared for college; it gives us different, more varied, experiences,” said soon-to-be senior Parson.
The contract was a political victory for the union and school board, because ratification this early has been almost unheard of in the strife-ridden district over the last decade.
“I am proud we have put the events of the past behind us,” said North Chicago Teacher’s Union President Deborah Lawson. “While no two sides could ever see eye to eye on everything, I believe the board really listened to us and we to them.”
“Everybody’s minds went back to what happened during our last negotiations,” said Lawson, who has been teaching in the district for 19 years. “Everybody’s minds went back to everything we lived through during the strike in 1993. We all agreed we wanted to get this thing done by the end of the fiscal year (June 30).”
While Monday closed the chapter on another school year, it may have begun a whole new saga on the rebuilding of North Chicago schools.
“In my 16 years with the district, this is only the second time I can remember that we can come back to school in the fall and not have to be asking each other what’s going on with contract negotiations,” said Robert Presley, music teacher at North Chicago High.
“I think with this contract and the restoring of programs things will finally start to get back to normal, the way they should always be, for the kids’ sake.”
