Unit 4 School Dis. Reaches Tentative Agreement With Teachers

A bargaining session that ran past 2 A.M. Wednesday morning has produced a tentative contract agreement for teachers at the Champaign Unit 4 school district.

Both the district and the Champaign Federation of Teachers have notified teachers of the tentative settlement.  Unit 4 spokeswoman Stephanie Stuart says the agreement “honors the work of our educators.”

Union president Jennifer White says a ratification vote for teachers will be scheduled.

The tentative agreement wrapped up a bargaining session that began Tuesday afternoon. Some 150 CFT members marched from Champaign Central High School to the Unit 4 Mellon Administrative Building to call attention to their concerns.

Those concerns included district plans to extend the length of the school day and the offer of more money for positions that Unit 4 administrators say are “hard to fill.” Neither the administration or union gave any details about the tentative agreement following the meeting.

Prior to Tuesday's bargaining session, Unit 4 teachers overwhelmingly approved a strike authorization vote. But CFT officials said a strike was only an option if talks broke down.

Teachers in Unit 4 have been without a contract since July 1. A new three-year contract for support staff was approved by the Unit 4 School Board this past Monday.