Naperville teachers rally ahead of potential strike
NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The first day of school for Naperville District 203 is this week, but a strike is looming.
Teachers were set to rally Monday as they push for a deal on a new contract.
The teachers at District 203 have voted to authorize a strike if need be, but they are hoping to work out a deal. In the meantime, they would be holding a rally at Naperville North High School around 5 p.m.
School is set to start for District 203 on Thursday for the nearly 17,000 students. Teachers will be in the classroom and the soonest they could strike — should they choose to go that route — would be next week.
The teachers’ union president says there are two sticking points keeping them from agreeing on a new contract. They include being able to use paid time off for parental leave and compensation for an increased workload.
The union and district will meet for another mediation session on Tuesday morning.
"What we really want to show is that that nobody wants us to go any further, I mean, this is, we think that it's frankly a little bizarre. These are things that are easily affordable within the current revenue stream to the district. We want to show that the school district and the school board that we care deeply about kids we care deeply about the partnership that we have with this community," said Dan Iverson, President of the Naperville Unit Education Association.
FOX 32 reached out to the school district for comment and have not heard back. Monday night’s rally and march is ahead of a regularly scheduled board meeting.