After three bargaining sessions this week failed to produce a new contract, union officials announced Thursday night that Naperville School District 203 teachers will go on strike Tuesday.
The Naperville Unit Education Association said in a news release that the school board’s most recent proposal represented a major step backward.
“We have always said a strike is our last resort,” union President Ross Berkley said in a statement. “However, after months of bargaining, overwhelming community support and the board’s refusal to make meaningful progress, we have reached a point where we may have no other choice. As a result, we have set our official strike date.”
The union’s decision to send its members to the picket line came after its third bargaining session of the week ended Thursday night without an agreement.
Berkley said the union wanted to make sure the community had as much time as possible to make arrangements for their children. The union represents more than 1,500 teachers and licensed staff and has been working without a contract since June 30. Contract negotiations began in February.
In a message to parents Friday, Superintendent Dan Bridges said the district learned of the NUEA’s strike date along with the rest of the community and reiterated that the board is committed to reaching an agreement to keep students in the classroom.
“We understand how important it is for our students to continue their learning without disruption, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that happens,” Bridges said.
If a strike does occur, all schools will be closed to students Tuesday, and there will be no extracurricular activities or athletic activities, he said. Remote learning will not be an option.
The district is currently working with its community partners to secure child care solutions for families as well as making sure free and reduced meals are available, Bridges said.
If the teachers do walk out, it will be the first strike since 1991, which lasted three days.
The union’s statement said teachers will strike Tuesday unless the board reverses course and offers a fair agreement that “values educators, supports our students and provides the stability our community deserves.”
Berkley said the board’s latest proposal is significantly lower than its previous base salary proposals.
Union members voted to authorize a strike on Aug. 13 — the legal step necessary in advance of a walkout — and rallied at two school board meetings this month to drum up support for a fair contract. At the meeting Monday, teachers, parents and students spoke for more than two hours in support a new contract for the teachers.
Union representatives said negotiations are continuing in an effort to reach an agreement and avert a strike. The two sides have been talking with the assistance of a federal mediator and are to meet again Friday.
District officials have said the board is committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching an agreement that is fair to both educators and taxpayers.
Board President Charles Cush previously released a video message in which he said the union’s requests are not financially feasible and that the offer being made by the board would ensure the district’s teachers would be among the highest compensated in the region.
Thursday night, District 203 officials said the board is committed to reaching a fair, fiscally responsible solution that focuses on keeping students in school.
“Our top priority remains our students and keeping them in classrooms,” Cush said in a district news release. “We are committed to moving forward together. The strength of our district has always come from the unity between our educators and our community, and we are dedicated to preserving that.”
Some of the key sticking points were teacher salaries and the Innovative School Experience, which calls for a change to the structure of the school day as well as the start and end times across the grade levels.
The Innovative School Experience would add 15 minutes to the elementary day, more math instruction at the middle school level and a block schedule for middle and high school students. The plan, which was to have been implemented in the 2026-27 school year if approved, was tabled in April after pushback from the community.
The board pulled all language related to the Innovative School Experience before the NUEA issued a strike date, district spokeswoman LeeAnn Betz said in an email.
Angela Rose, a parent of two children at Mill Street Elementary School, said Friday she is hoping the teachers and school district come to an agreement to avert a strike.
“We are a top-rated school district,” said Rose, who works as a Realtor. “I know people and families move here from all over the country because of our schools.”
Rose, who volunteers in her children’s school, said teacher morale is low and they feel under appreciated and undervalued. She said teachers spend their own money on supplies for their classroom, and said she knew of one teacher who had spent more than $1,000 on supplies.
She doesn’t want to lose quality teachers to other districts, she said, and she wants to make sure the district remains one of the best in the state.
“The teachers give so much of themselves,” Rose said. “A strike sends a clear message to the school board that teachers need to be appreciated. They need to be heard, and they need to be valued. At the end of the day, we will keep our top rankings if we compensate teachers fairly.”
