Addison District 4 declares impasse in teacher contract talks

The Addison Elementary District 4 school board has declared an impasse in contract negotiations with its teachers union.

The board filed notice with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on Thursday night saying talks have reached a standstill.

The notice means both the district and the union now have one week to exchange final contract offers.

The two sides previously planned to meet Thursday for a fifth session with a federal mediator, but no bargaining took place.

Instead, the district's negotiating team alerted the Addison Teachers Association of its intent to file the notice after nearly eight months at the bargaining table.

The district and the union must deliver their offers in writing to each other and the labor relations board by no later than Nov. 3.

"It's a simple request that we put the offers out there so we can make some decisions and make some commitments to each other," Superintendent John Langton said Friday.

Unless negotiators hammer out a deal, the state labor board will disclose the details of the offers on its website (Illinois.gov/elrb) on Nov. 10. The district's proposal also would be posted on its website.

The district and the union still can negotiate, but have not scheduled any meetings.

"Nothing prohibits either side from continuing to bargain," Langton said.

Teachers have been working under the terms of the most recent contract, a three-year pact that expired at the end of June.

Talks on a new contract began March 9. After 11 bargaining sessions, the board requested in August that the two sides make a joint request for a federal mediator.

Negotiators made some progress last spring with tentative agreements on "smaller issues," but were unable to agree on teacher salaries and benefits, Langton said.

A first-year teacher in the district who has a bachelor's degree now makes $41,605 a year. The district does not use a traditional salary schedule with so-called step increases based on teachers' length of service.

The district and the union met four times with the mediator in September and early October.

"Our offers have been reflective of wanting to fairly compensate them within our means, and I believe that our last and final offer is going to reflect that," Langton said.

Kim Heupel, a union official and teacher at Stone Elementary, did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment Friday. Jim Towns, the school board's vice president and chairman of the district's negotiating team, also did not return calls.

The union represents more than 300 members in the district, where about 4,300 children attend classes in an early learning center, seven elementary schools and one junior high.