Three weeks after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the Valley View School District 365U Board, the Valley View Council Local 604 teachers union has voted to reject the proposed deal.

The school board said in a statement Friday that it was “notified that the Valley View Council Local 604 membership did not ratify the contract as presented.”

The union membership voted on Oct. 6-7, Union President Jared Ploger confirmed.

“We agree on the majority of what we have bargained,” he said.

The sticking point in the deal remains a proposed plan by the district to extend the school day at the district’s two high schools, Romeoville High School and Bolingbrook High School. That extension would have required teachers and students to arrive on campus by 7 a.m., although the plan did not include many specific details.

“We believe the heart of the issue is the ambiguity of the added time to our students’ day at the high school and the impacts that would have at the various levels,” Ploger said. “As we stated earlier in negotiations, the community is the place to start these conversations, proposals, and dialogue around a major shift in the day of our students. That has not been done. ”

The union and the board have been negotiating since January to establish a new contract, and the two sides reached an impasse in August.

The district’s teachers, paraprofessionals, maintenance crews, nurses, security and other staff represented by the union have been working without a contract since the previous contract expired in mid-August, just as the new school year began.

The union voted to authorize a strike in September before the tentative contract deal was reached, although the district said that it “has received no information to indicate that the Valley View Council Local 604 intends to go on strike imminently” after the failed contract vote.

The union is surveying its members to “identify key priorities for continued discussion” after the vote before a date is set to renew negotiations, according to the board’s statement.

“We are optimistic that, through open dialogue and mutual respect, we will arrive at an agreement that strengthens our schools and supports the success of all students and staff while being realistic about budgetary constraints and community expectations,” the board said in a statement. “The VVSD board of education and senior leadership team remain committed to our shared mission of meeting the needs of every learner every day.”

The proposal to change start times at the high schools earned significant pushback not just from teachers, but from students and parents, who argued it would create logistical problems and deprive students of sleep.

“We just cannot ignore the time at the high school,” Ploger said, adding the union wants “a definitive plan to present to members and how it could affect the other levels, our students and the community.”