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West Aurora School District will begin the school year Wednesday with a new four-year contract with its teachers.

Under terms of the negotiated agreement between the district and the Aurora Education Association-West union, average annual increases over the life of the contract will be 3.37 percent, including step increases, according to officials.

“We are appreciative of all our teachers do to meet the needs of our students,” West Aurora Assistant Superintendent of Operations Angie Smith said in a statement.

The agreement provides a “great balance,” Smith said.

“It allows us to provide financial stability to the district, continue to be able to attract and retain top teacher talent, and through the continued focus on district fund balances as part of the compensation plan, gives us a common financial goal to work towards,” Smith said.

West Aurora School District Finance Director Ryan Abrahamson said the agreement represents step and wage increases that will cost the district $7.4 million over the four years of the contract.

The average annual pay increase for teachers will be 4.31 percent in 2019-2020, 4.14 percent in 2020-2021, 2.53 percent in 2021-2022 and 2.50 percent in 2022-2023.

The district anticipates hiring additional career technical education staff for the Weisner Family Center for Career Development, the ongoing roll-out of double block math in the middle schools as well as interventionist support in classrooms, she said.

The union membership, comprised of roughly 850 teachers, ratified the agreement Aug. 16.

“We are very happy that this agreement allows us to remain competitive and honors the hard work that our teachers put in every day to meet the needs of our students,” Aurora Education Association-West chief bargainer Ron McKay said in the statement.

The school board’s vote on the agreement was 4-0. Board member Valerie Brown Dykstra was not present. Board Vice President Richard Kerns and board member Christopher Sparks abstained from voting because their spouses are teachers in the district.

It was the first year the district implemented “interest-based” bargaining, with both sides addressing solutions to one another’s issues, district officials said.

West Aurora School District Superintendent Jeff Craig.
West Aurora School District Superintendent Jeff Craig.

“The process stretches (the negotiations) out but it lends itself to a positive outcome and positive interaction between each other,” West Aurora Superintendent Jeff Craig said. “There were late nights and long days involved over time to come to an agreement.”

Board members recognized the efforts of the bargaining teams involved in the negotiations.

“The end goal was to start our school year on a positive note. The hard work that went into (negotiations) did not go unnoticed,” school board member Thomas St. Jules said.

“It’s a huge relief,” McKay told The Beacon-News of the agreement settled before the start of the first full day of school.

“It was a collaborative process. We listened to their offers and they listened to ours. It was a very human process. We entered not knowing each other well and left as friends,” McKay said.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.