Oct. 11--Teachers in McHenry High School District 156 will vote Monday on whether to ratify a new contract and end a strike that's kept them out of the classroom since Oct. 1.
Negotiators for the union and school board reached a tentative agreement late Friday, said Gary Kinshofer, lead negotiator for the school board, in an email.
The school district's website said classes would resume Tuesday morning. Monday is Columbus Day, and students already had the day off.
While Kinshofer wouldn't discuss the details of the tentative contract, he confirmed it was a three-year deal.
The 152 educators on strike had been seeking raises of 1.36 percent for each of two years, plus annual step increases averaging 3.63 percent, the union previously said. The district said it had made an offer during negotiations for a four-year contract with annual raises of 3.6 percent in the first and last years and 1.8 percent in the middle two years.
All extracurricular activities for the 2,650 students, including sports and clubs, had been canceled. Homecoming events scheduled for this weekend had been called off as well. They've been rescheduled for Oct. 17, with the football game at 1 p.m. and the dance at 8 p.m., according to the district's website.
Administrators plan to meet with student leadership groups as soon as school resumes so that they can provide input on revisions to the school calendar and rescheduling missed activities.
The McHenry strike was at least the second in the suburbs this fall. Teachers in Prospect Heights School District 23 had a seven-day walkout last month before a new contract was approved.
The Chicago Teachers Union is attempting to negotiate a new contract with Mayor Rahm Emanuel's school board. District officials have threatened midyear cuts if the state doesn't provide nearly $500 million in help.
meltagouri@tribpub.com
