The Chicago Teachers Union contract is set to expire in June, soon leading to negotiations between educators and the school board.
Union President Stacy Davis Gates said in early March that its proposed contract for 2024 to 2028 “will cost $50 billion and 3 cents.”
‘And?’ Davis Gates added. ‘That’s audacity. That’s Chicago.
The teachers union requires nine percent cost-of-living adjustments each year.
According to Indeed, the average salary for a teacher in Chicago public schools is $67,718. With annual increases over four years, teachers would receive a salary of about $95,000 a year in 2028, which is about 36 percent more than the national average.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates (pictured), who doesn’t even enroll her own child in public school, wants a $50 billion contract for teachers over the next four years.
High school students leave the building during a student walkout over Covid-19 safety measures at Chicago Public Schools in Chicago, Illinois, on January 14, 2022.
The $50 billion lawsuit comes even though Chicago Public Schools spends more than $21,000 per studentwell above the national average of $14,347, according to the Census Bureau.
And even with the extra $7,000 that Chicago lavishes on its students, the cost doesn’t seem to lead to better academic outcomes.
Only 21 percent of eighth graders in Chicago public schools were proficient in reading as measured by the Nation’s Report Card, which has been cataloging students’ academic performance in all subjects since 1969.
Perhaps that’s partly why Davis Gates has been sending his son to a prestigious private Catholic school, NBC. reported in September 2023.
While the 142-page contract drafted by the teachers union addresses ways to increase its students’ proficiency in certain sections, there are also many requests that have more to do with addressing perceived social ills in the community.
For example, the teachers union wants taxpayer funds to be allocated to convert unused school facilities into housing for immigrants, whom they call “asylum-seeking families.” Not only that, but they believe each migrant student should receive $2,000 for help with academics, transportation, and mental health counseling.
Then-vice president of the teachers union, Stacy Davis Gates, speaks at a downtown rally in support of the ongoing teachers’ strike on October 23, 2019.
Only 21 percent of eighth graders in Chicago public schools were proficient in reading, as measured by the National Report Card.
Chicago Public Schools spends more than $21,000 per student, well above the national average of $14,347, according to the Census Bureau.
The union also requires that each of the 646 public schools have a “newcomer liaison” for both new and immigrant students.
And for late-arriving immigrants who are unlikely to graduate from high school before age 19, the union wants the school board to collaborate with the City Colleges of Chicago to “create pathways” for them to succeed.
The contract also has many sections that address sex and gender issues facing staff and students.
The union insists that all counselors, doctors, social workers and psychologists be “queer competent” and “train annually on LGBTQ+ issues as a qualification for their job description.”
The union also wants to require that all schools in the district have at least one gender-neutral bathroom.
Gates (pictured) became president of the union in 2022 and will lead negotiations between Chicago Public Schools teachers and the board over what the next contract should look like.
The contract further stipulates that no faculty member should be allowed to reveal a student’s gender identity to their parents if they do not know it.
And when it comes to gender-affirming healthcare for staff and their dependents, the union wants that to be covered. Abortion is also among the health care needs the union wants the school board to cover 100 percent.
Aside from the gender and health care demands, the union also wants the district to allocate $5 million per year to fund costs associated with reducing workloads for certain staff.
For parents and students who fear returning to virtual learning, there is an exception that would allow the entire district to return to Zoom classes.
After any “traumatic event” that occurs at a school (which is not defined), the superintendent will be required to meet with the head of the teachers union to discuss closing the school for some time.
“No school will reopen until all necessary supports, both physical and emotional, are in place,” according to the contract.
The events will also prevent teachers from being evaluated on their performance for an entire calendar year.
It’s unclear whether all or even most of these requirements issued by the teachers union will end up in the final contract. The current contract, in force for four years, expires in June.