Schools

UPDATE: Mokena 159 and Teachers Union Reach Contract Deal

Mokena School District 159 and the Mokena Teachers' Association have come to terms on a new contract to replace the one that expired over the summer, a union representative confirmed Wednesday night.

After working without a contract since summer, schoolteachers in will soon have a ratified agreement, union spokeswoman Laurel McGowan confirmed on Wednesday night.

"(T)he teachers' association and the board have come to an agreement, McGowan wrote in an e-mail to Patch at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. "The association has voted to ratify it, and the board is scheduled to vote on Saturday."

A few hours earlier Wednesday night, the district sent out notice of a special board meeting 8 a.m. Saturday to discuss—and possibly ratify—a new contract with the teacher's union.

Find out what's happening in Mokenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The union already voted to ratify the deal, McGowan said.

The teachers have been working without a contract since summer, an issue that has led to mass protests at school board meetings and concern of a teacher strike.

Find out what's happening in Mokenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The agenda released Wednesday night included a closed-session portion for negotiations and one item to vote on:

Ratify Professional Negotiations Agreement between Mokena Teachers’ Association, IEA/NEA and Board of Education

By law, agendas must be made public 48 hours before a meeting, so the latest this could have been released was 8 a.m. Thursday.

School board President John Troy confirmed there will be a vote on the measure on Saturday, but did not offer specifics.

This story will be updated as it develops.

Updated at 9:42 p.m. Wednesday with McGowan comments, 10:39 p.m. Wednesday with Troy comments.

Read past articles on contract negotiations:

, Dec. 13

, Dec. 8

, Dec. 6

, Dec. 2

, Nov. 30

, Nov. 11

, Oct. 28


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here