The Chicago Board of Education this week is postponing its regular monthly meeting as it continues contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union.
The board on Monday announced the meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed indefinitely until after the teachers union and SEIU Local 73 end their ongoing strike.
“This will allow district leadership to focus on negotiations and central office staff, who are currently deployed to schools, to support students during the work stoppage,” a message on the board’s website states.
Monday marked the third day of canceled classes as CTU and city negotiators worked over the weekend to try and finalize a new contract. Both sides have signaled progress in recent days after months of negotiations failed to yield an agreement before the CTU’s strike deadline last Thursday.
“The Chicago Board of Education, alongside Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and CPS, is committed to reaching agreements with the CTU and SEIU that respect and honor the hard work of our teachers and support staff while also protecting the historic academic progress our students have made in the past decade,” the board said in a statement.
On Sunday, the union said it reached a tentative agreement to ensure specific staffing positions to support homeless students, as well as a guaranteed ratio of at least one teacher for every 10 students in all-day pre-K classrooms.
CTU said it has also agreed to contract language that will prevent counselors from being pulled from their duties to fill in elsewhere as substitute teachers or other roles.
The city and the union are expected to provide bargaining updates later Monday.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
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