Huntley teachers will see yearly pay raises of at least 4% under new contract

The Huntley Community School District 158 board is set to vote on a new contract for the Huntley Education Association, the district’s teachers union, Thursday night.

The contract, which is effective July 1 until June 30, 2027, includes higher pay for teachers and more sick leave, among other changes.

The HEA ratified the contract Dec. 6, according to a news release posted on the district’s website.

“Going into this round of negotiations, the HEA came to the table asking for fair and comparable pay and working conditions like that of our surrounding districts,” Brad Aney, HEA president, said in the release. “We believe this agreement accomplishes that objective and also ensures our ability to recruit future educators while retaining those hard working individuals that have done so much for our students and the surrounding community.”

Salaries will be increased over the three-year term of the contract. Teachers will receive raises of at least 5% in base salary in the 2024-25 school year, a minimum of 4.5% raises in 2025-26 and at least a 4% raise in 2026-27, according to the document.

The contract also states there will be a “step” increase of 2.5% in the second and third years of the contract. Step increases are given for an additional year of seniority.

At the upper level of the salary range are teachers who have master’s degrees plus 45 credit hours of additional education, and 29 years of service. Such a teacher will earn a base salary of $107,946 in 2024-25, $115,297 in 2025-26 and $119,332 in 2026-27.

The starting base salary for a teacher in District 158 will be $45,252 in 2024-25, $47,514 in 2026-27 and $48,464 for the final year of the contract.

Supervisor duties also will pay more. Currently, teachers get $20.50 an hour to supervise activities like lunchroom duty, ticket taking and concert attendance, among others, which goes up to $21 per hour in 2024, and increases to $22 per hour in 2026. The new contract also says middle school lunch supervisors will be paid $30 per hour, an item that does not exist in the old contract.

Teachers will be reimbursed $140 per credit hour for classes, up from $130 in the old contract.

Some of the other changes outlined in the contract include more sick leave for all employees. The current contract states employees with up to four years of service get 12 days of sick leave, and teachers with five or more years of service will have 15 days of sick leave. Now, all teachers, regardless of seniority, get 15 days of sick leave.

However, the old contract said unused sick leave would be paid out at a rate of $15 a day. The new contract says, “All sick days will be reported to [the Teachers Retirement System] upon retirement and before any reimbursement will be distributed. Starting with the 24-25 school year, if a certified staff member is part of the Retirement Incentive and has 25 years of service with the District, they will be reimbursed at $80.00 per day for any unused sick leave days not turned into TRS for service credit upon retirement, up to 100 days.”

While the board has yet to vote on the contract, board President Andrew Bittman said in the district’s news release: “Our educators are foundational to the success of our district’s mission of educating our students. This contract will go a long way in helping us retain our great teachers as well as recruit excellent teachers in the future.”