The Board of Education of Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 has ratified a collective bargaining agreement with secretarial, custodial and maintenance employees represented by the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT). The organization of 79 employees is named the District 64 Support Staff Council (SSC).
The Board of Education approved the agreement at its March 6, 2023, regular meeting, and it will be in effect until June 30th, 2025. The new deal will add approximately $591,000 to the District’s expenditures over the three-year life of the contract.
The new three-year agreement will be retroactive to July 1, 2022. SSC members will receive the following salary increases:
- 2022-2023
- Custodians/Maintenance - a $2.25/hour increase or the new starting base wage rate, whichever is higher
- Administrative/Clerical Assistants will increase by $2.00/hour
- 2023-2024
- Support staff will have salaries increase by 3.25% over the prior year’s base salary if they were employed with the District before July 1, 2023
- 2024-2025
- SSC members will receive an increase to the base salary tied to the Consumer Price Index All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), which is the same percentage used in the District’s annual tax levy, with a floor of 1.5% and a ceiling of 3.25%
“Our secretarial, custodial, and maintenance employees play an essential role in ensuring our schools run smoothly and create a positive environment for our students,” said Superintendent Dr. Eric Olson. “This agreement recognizes their valuable contributions and provides fair compensation and benefits that will help them continue to thrive in their roles.”
“I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of the SSC bargaining team and look forward to continuing our partnership to support our students and staff,” added Dr. Olson.
Additionally, SSC members will receive a one-time longevity bonus based on their years of service in the District as of January 1, 2023. Support staff with 5-9 years of service will get a one-time stipend of $1,000, 10-14 years will get $1,250, and 15+ years will get $1,500.
According to Frank Borkowski, President of SSC, “We are thankful to our negotiations team and to the District’s team for successfully coming together with this agreement.”
This is the second agreement between SSC and District 64. Borkowski said, “We continue to be excited about the future and remain committed to further progress and excellence throughout the District.”
Contract negotiations began in June of 2022, with nine sessions held in all. Two Board of Education members served on the negotiations team and provided frequent updates and input from the Board on a regular basis.
“This agreement with SSC took a thorough and collaborative effort to make sure we addressed the needs of our support staff while also positioning the District and community to be successful in the future,” said Board President Dr. Denise Pearl. “We are grateful for all the hard work and effort to get this done.”
District 64 serves about 4,500 students in grades K-8 at five elementary schools, two middle schools, and an early childhood center.