LFHS Teachers, Board Meet, No Pact Reached

No agreement was reached Thursday when representatives of the District 115 Board of Education and the met together with a federal mediator for the first time since July 19.

This is also the first time the groups met since the teachers declared an impasse in the negotiations August 10 setting in motion a chain of events that could lead to a strike as early as Sept. 10.

Despite the fact no agreement was reached, Board President Sharon Golan remains hopeful a contract satisfactory to both sides can be attained.

“The Board of Education remains committed to continuing to meet with the union to reach an outcome that keeps our teachers’ compensation competitive with comparable area high school districts, while remaining fiscally responsible to our community,” Golan said in a statement.

Representatives of the LFEA did not have comments for Patch before deadline but August 17 which was along with a the teachers’ action.

Under Illinois law, once one side declares an impasse, the two sides must exchange final offers within seven days and those offers are made public seven days later. District Communications Director Anne Whipple indicated both proposals would be available to the public by Monday on the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board website.

After the final offers are exchanged, the union must wait 14 days before a work stoppage could begin, according to Illinois law. The LFEA must also issue a notice of intent to strike 10 days prior to any cessation of teaching. No notice has been issued. No one has indicated when the next mediation session will be held.

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