Champaign Teachers And Board Of Education Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

The Champaign Federation of Teachers and the Unit 4 Board of Education reached a tentative three-year contract agreement Tuesday night, halting a potential teacher strike.

The two sides negotiated for more than five hours behind closed doors, and emerged around 8:30 p.m. with a proposal that CFT will take back to its members for a ratification vote Nov. 27.

While she couldn’t comment on the specifics of the proposal Tuesday night, CFT President Jennifer White said the agreement addresses several of the sticking points that have held up negotiations between the board and union over the last several months.

“The proposal that we’ll bring back will cover all the things that we’ve been talking about all along,” White said. “Like home visits, and class size, of course.”

After the union members vote on the three-year contract proposal, it will go to the school board for final approval. Unit 4 School Board President Chris Kloeppel said he’s glad that the two sides have come to terms.

“I’m glad…we’ve given something that the CFT negotiation team feels comfortable taking back to their membership.”

The union filed its intent to strike last week. Had Tuesday’s bargaining session been unsuccessful, the CFT could have moved forward with plans to strike Nov. 26. Teachers in the school district have been without a contract since June 30.