D218, Teachers' Union Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

Community High School District 218 and the teachers’ union but details cannot be released to the public until the board of education and union members are able to ratify it.

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The D218 Board of Education may possibly approve the contract—pending a union vote expected to take place later this week—at a special meeting at Alan B. Shepard High School in Palos Heights at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 20, according to school district website. If approved, the new contract would be in effect from 2012-16.

D218 also announced that district high schools—, Shepard, Eisenhower, and the Summit and Delta Learning Centers—would start on time when freshmen report for orientation on Aug. 20.

The board of education and a federal mediator was brought in. The 2008-12 teachers’ contract was set to expire on the first day of school next week.

IEA Local 218 president Bradley Wright, a science teacher at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, expected the union’s membership to vote on the contract after a scheduled teacher’s institute day on Thursday.

“We want to make sure all of our members know about contract. They haven’t seen the document yet,” Wright said. “We want to make sure they see it first.”

In addition to the district’s 422 teachers, IEA Local 218 is comprised of district support staff, nurses, security and technical staff, social workers and guidance counselors.

The district’s maintenance and custodial staff have a separate union.

Wright could not disclose details of the new contract because parts of it included changes to some employees' insurance.

“All I can tell you is that’s a four-year deal,” Wright said. “The best I can say is that it’s palatable considering the economic times and the environment out there in public education.”

Freshmen are scheduled for orientation at Shepard and in Oak Lawn on August 20; students in grades 9-12 report for the first day of school on August 21.

Wright said he was relieved that the new contract was finally settled.

“Everyone is thanking us that it’s settled, including the administrators so we can move on to the new school year,” he said.

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