The two sides in contract negotiations between Kewanee School District teachers and the school administration will meet for a mediation session on Wednesday, Aug. 2, according to a source with knowledge of the process.
Negotiations between the two parties began back in April. Since then, the two sides have met five times to work out a new contract, but haven’t been able to reach a compromise. The current teacher’s contract expires on Aug. 15, one day before school is scheduled to resume.
At issue is the demand for higher pay for teachers and staff. According to govsalaries.com, the annual salaries of teachers working in the Kewanee School District is 24 % lower than the state average and 38 % lower than the national average.
One source said the lower pay has led to the district’s loss of experienced teachers to other area school districts.
A spokeswoman from the Illinois Education Association said this week that the state organization would comment on the Kewanee situation following next week’s mediation session.
An informational picketing is currently planned for Aug. 2. Teachers plan to gather in front of the district administrative offices on Wednesday while mediation is going on. The picketers will offer information to the public about the contract negotiations. The public is welcome to join.
Kewanee Supt. Dr. Christopher Sullens said the mediations are a closed process, but declined to comment further.
“We’ve elected not to release a statement on behalf of the board at this point,” Dr. Sullens said.
** Mike Berry and Susan DeVilder contributed to this article.
