The negotiating teams for the District 65 School Board and the District Educators Council (DEC, the teachers’ union) reached a tentative agreement on July 17.
The terms of the agreement are subject to a confidentiality agreement and have not been disclosed.
The District 65 School Board met on July 23 in closed session. The notice of the meeting stated the meeting was being held to discuss collective negotiations between the District and its employees.
The agreement must still be approved by the Board in public session.
The details of the tentative agreement will be presented to members of DEC at a general membership meeting on Aug. 28. Under DEC’s bylaws, DEC members may not vote on whether to accept the agreement until 72 hours after the presentation of the agreement at the Aug. 28 meeting.
Negotiations became strained after the School Board sent a letter dated June 10 directly to members of DEC, which summarized the Board’s “final offer” and said the DEC bargaining team had rejected the offer.
On June 23 Dorothy Millard, president of DEC, told Board members at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board that by sending the letter, the Board broke a confidentiality agreement and attempted to undermine the authority of DEC’s negotiating team.