Riley School District 18 Board could vote on new contracts Thursday

Riley School District 18 teachers will vote Wednesday whether to approve a tentative bargaining agreement between the district board and the Riley Education Association.

If the teachers approve the agreement, the board will then vote on the deal at a special meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the District 18 building at 9406 Riley Road in Marengo.

The newly designed contract is more “level” in its distribution of raises than previous years, Superintendent Christine Conkling said.

The collective bargaining agreement relies on a salary schedule that allows for raises each school year based on an employee’s years of service and education level. As it was written Wednesday, the lowest base salary on the schedule was $39,967 and the highest was $84,604.

The tentative contract calls for a 1.5% salary increase each year until 2022, at which point teachers will receive a 1.4% raise for the following two school years. An additional schedule was created to determine stipends for teachers who oversee extracurricular activities.

Part-time teachers will receive an annual salary increase based on their full-time equivalence.

Teachers who reach the highest possible salary in their schedule category will receive a flat raise unless they further their education. Any teacher who advances to the three highest schedule categories will receive a 2% annual raise and will not be eligible for additional raises based on continued education.

The district will reimburse teachers for continued education as much as $350 a credit hour, not exceeding 12 credit hours a year.