Schools

District 155 Teachers to Picket Prior to School Board Meeting Tuesday

Members of the District 155 Education Association plan to hold an informational picket form 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, prior to the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting.

Members of the Association plan to hold an informational picket from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 19 prior to the Board of Education meeting at Crystal Lake Central High School, 45 W. Franklin Ave., in Crystal Lake.

"While a strike is not imminent, the members of the association hope to encourage the Board of Education to reach a settlement so that a strike can be avoided all together," teachers union president Justin Hubly said in a news release. 

Last Thursday, the District 155 Board of Education unanimously voted against teachers union binding arbitration offer.

The 440 members of the District 155 Education Association have been working without a contract since July 1. Earlier this month, 99.4 percent of union members voted in favor of a strike authorization vote.

Find out what's happening in Crystal Lake-Carywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The strike authorization allows the teachers' negotiating team to call a strike - if necessary - once the requirements of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act are met. 

Had the District 155 School Board accepted the union's binding arbitration offer, the strike option would have come off the table, Hubly said. 

Find out what's happening in Crystal Lake-Carywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With the binding arbitration offer rejected, the teachers union is expected to present its impasse offer, which will become public upon being submitted to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) by the end of the month. 

On Friday, Community High School District 155 filed its final offer to the District 155 Education Association with the IELRB. 

The proposal will be posted on the IELRB website within seven days and has already been added to the district’s website along with other negotiations-related information at www.d155.org/negotiations, said Jeff Puma, communications director for District 155. 

The District 155 Education Association's members represent certified staff at Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South and Prairie Ridge high schools, as well as certified staff members at the District’s alternative education program at Haber Oaks Campus. 

More information is available on the District 155 Education Association website. 



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