For the third month in a row, Kewanee School District teachers urged the school board to settle on a new contract with their union.
Members of the Kewanee Education Association (KEA), the union representing teachers and support staff, have been working without a contract since their previous pact expired Aug. 15. Some of the more than 200 union members attended Monday’s school board meeting.
Instead of the orange shirts the union members wore to previous board meetings, most of them in attendance Monday were dressed in black.
“Our teachers are the backbone of the community,” one teacher told the board Monday. And yet, she said, the teachers feel “disrespected” by the board.
She said she has been “struggling to pay my bills every month.”
That sentiment was echoed by other teachers who spoke, who also said that even though they like their jobs and would prefer to stay with the Kewanee district, they have been considering moving to another district that offers better pay.
One teacher said she was considering pursuing a master’s degree, which would qualify her for a higher salary. But she said she can’t afford the tuition on her current salary.
She said when she figures in all the hours she works, she is making “less than, or right at” minimum wage.
Cheryl Osborne, a Kewanee High School business teacher, said part of the problem with teacher salaries is that, six years ago, the board eliminated the “step” system which provided annual salary increases for teachers.
As a result, Osborne said, a teacher in his or her first year at Kewanee is making the same base salary as one who has been with the district for six years.
“That’s just not fair,” Osborne said.
She also suggested that if the board has a problem with the teachers’ salary schedule, “they should take it public,” and inform school district residents about the problem.
Osborne called for the union and the board to “unite against teacher turnover” and settle on a new contract “tonight.”
“That is a win for everybody,” she said.
The board had no comment following the teachers’ remarks.
