New Yorkville School District Y115 teacher contract includes 18% wage hikes for certified staff over four years

YORKVILLE -- The Yorkville School Board and the Yorkville Education Association have agreed on a four-year contract extending through the 2025-26 school year.

The deal was approved by school board members and ratified by the YEA on Aug. 22, just days ahead of the start of the 2022-23 school year.

Under the terms of the new agreement certified staff will receive an 18% salary increase over the four-year duration of the contract.

Nurses and non-certified custodians will receive a 3% increase each year through the 2025-26 school year.

Paraprofessionals will receive a $2 increase to be applied to their current base hourly rate for the first year of the contract. For the 2023-24 school year, a $1.50 increase will be applied. In each of the last two years of the contract, a $1 increase will be added.

Building administrative assistants will receive a $1.50 increase to be applied to their current base hourly rate for the first year of the contract.

For the last three years of the contract, the building administrative assistants will receive a $1 increase each year.

The YEA membership consists of nearly 700 certified and classified staff members.

“The key to this contract negotiation was focusing on meeting the needs of our members, and by extension, our students and community, in order to ensure the continuation of quality public education in District Y115,” Yorkville Education Association President Rachel Juarez said.

“Our members voted overwhelmingly to approve this contract, validating the hard work and collaborative nature of the YEA bargaining team and the district office,” YEA chief negotiator Ryan Crocilla-Martinez said.

“We are pleased to have a new four-year contract in place that was built on a continued history of collaboration and respect,” school board President Lynn Burks said.

“This contract is resolved by a board of education where teamwork, fiduciary stewardship, compromise, and problem solving occurred by both parties to find the best means to support our district community, tax payers, and most importantly continue the innovative styles of educational opportunities for our students,” Burks said.