Less than two days after negotiations between the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union stalled, a new offer is on the table presenting the possibility of a teacher raise and a longer school day as early as January.
Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard first offered to pay elementary school teachers 2 percent more to work an additional 90 minutes each day in September when he appeared on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” Tuesday night. During Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting, CPS officials said the changes could be made as soon as January, 2012.
The offer came as a surprise to CTU president Karen Lewis. “It would’ve been nice if we had that proposal while we were actually in negotiations,” Lewis said Wednesday after the board meeting. “For some reason they decided to do it on Channel 11.”
The two parties began negotiating over wages after the board voted to deny teachers their 4 percent contractual raises in June, citing a $712 million deficit.
Late last week, the union put a number of proposals on the table, many going beyond wages. District spokeswoman Becky Carroll said that because the union broadened the discussion, district negotiators asked to discuss a longer day, but did not specifically outline the proposal Brizard put forward Tuesday.
Carroll said a formal proposal was sent to Lewis Wednesday morning. “If CTU is willing to accept this proposal, [Brizard’s] team will get to work on it immediately,” she said.
Only students in elementary schools would see a longer day in January, although Brizard hopes to lengthen the day and the school year for all students by next fall. CPS officials estimate a 2 percent raise for grade school teachers would cost $30 million. Asked where the cash-strapped district would find that money, Carroll said, “if that means we have to go back to the drawing board and cut into bone then we will.”
The board approved a $5.9 billion budget on Wednesday that included cuts to central office, reductions in after-school programs and a property tax increase that would generate $150 million, but no money was allocated to pay for new teacher raises.
During the budget presentation, Tim Cawley, CPS chief administrative officer, repeatedly warned of financial deficits in the coming years and said the district would need to go to Springfield again to address problems with its teacher pension fund. “You could close this building and fire everyone four times over and still face a deficit,” he said of increasing pension costs.