Next Danville Teachers Bargaining Session Set for Wednesday

Contract negotiations will resume this week between the Danville school district and teachers and support who are currently on strike.

The meeting will be the first between negotiators for District 118 and the Danville Education Association since Sunday's 14-hour session with a mediator that ended with teachers and support staff walking the picket line Monday morning.

The strike canceled classes and nearly all extracurricular activities in Danville schools. One exception was made for the North Ridge Middle School girls' softball team, which was allowed to continue competition at a state Class AA regional tournament in Tolono. The North Ridge team won the title game against Unity Monday night, with a score of 8 to 7. The school board for District 118 allowed the game only because the tournament had started before the strike, and a qualified coach was found who was not among employees on strike.

The school district and the DEA argued their cases through news releases on Monday. Both sides said they were ready to return to the bargaining table, and accused the other side of being unreasonable.

One issue mentioned by both District 118 and the union was how to spend $2.5 million in expected federal stimulus money. The school district says spending some of the money for salary raises would go against its intended use to hire back laid-off teachers along with new ones. The DEA questioned whether the district would use any of the money for bringing back teachers who were laid off at the start of the school year.

The school district and union members will meet Wednesday at 6 PM at the Jackson Administrative Building.