Crystal Lake School District 47 reaches tentative deal with teachers union; strike likely averted

After almost a year of negotiations, Crystal Lake School District 47 and its teachers union have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, officials said.

The school district and the union that represents District 47 teachers, the Crystal Lake Elementary Teachers Association, have reached a “tentative agreement” on a four-year contract for the school years from 2024 through 2029, according to a District 47 news release. Issued after the sides met for another session with a federal mediator Tuesday evening, the release was signed by CLETA President Jenny Sanchez and District 47 Board President Tim Mahaffy.

The union will vote on the tentative agreement Oct. 3, and the board will vote Oct. 21, officials said. Specific contract terms will be provided to the public after both parties finalize the contract agreements, according to the release.

Neither side has shared details on the proposed agreement, with both sides saying they want to hold off on releasing them publicly before both sides finalize it.

The school district and the union have been in negotiations for a new contract since October 2023. A federal mediator was brought on in June to help the sides hammer out an agreement, and the teachers have been working without a contract since the start of the school year.

At a school board meeting last week, hundreds of teachers and supporters wore red to show their solidarity with the union’s cause, as they’ve done other times before recent sessions. But that session appeared to indicate the sides were getting further apart.

At the meeting, Mahaffy read a lengthy statement, also posted online, sharing some of the details of the board’s offer to the teachers union and addressing what the district said was misinformation. The union likewise claimed that the district’s statement about its offer was misleading.

The union then declared that talks had reached an impasse, a step that is part of the formal process toward a potential teachers strike.

Tensions still may linger as CLETA filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the district last week claiming that the district is using outside firms to bring in temporary employees, “in direct violation of the current CLETA contract and the Illinois School Code,” according to a new release from the Illinois Education Association, of which CLETA is a member.

“The board, administrators and teachers are united in our commitment to provide quality education while balancing fiscal responsibility, prioritizing what’s best for our students, schools and the long-term success of the district,” according to the release.