The board of Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 on Monday night approved a contract with the union representing school bus drivers for the first time.
District 47 administers the Transportation Joint Agreement that supplies bus drivers for District 47 as well as for High School District 155.
The contract approved Monday night is with Transportation Local Crystal Lake (TLCL). The union was guided in its negotiations by the Illinois Education Association and the National Education Association, said Chris Austin, president of TLCL.
The new wage package includes a starting pay of $9.67 an hour, beginning with the 1997-’98 school year. The starting pay will rise to $9.96 per hour in the following school year.
Currently, the drivers’ starting pay is $8.74 an hour. The starting pay will go to $9 an hour for the rest of this year and retroactive to July, 1996, now that the contract has been approved, officials said.
