Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 has ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the Park Ridge Education Association, according to a May 29 announcement. The agreement was approved at the Board of Education’s regular meeting on May 21 and is intended to provide stability for more than 4,600 students in the district.
Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins said, “Our great staff works tirelessly for our students. One of the best ways to care for them is through open and sincere collective bargaining, where we work together to solve issues and make working conditions the best they can be. We all have a stake in the district’s financial health, and our process with this past labor contract was data-based and built trust.”
PREA President Erin Breen described the negotiations as transparent and positive: “This negotiating experience was very positive, and it was a very concerted effort to make it that way. It was very transparent. This is the first time in all of my negotiating that we have had a tentative agreement before the start of the school year, so that’s a big deal.” PREA represents more than 435 educators including teachers, nurses, psychologists, and social workers.
The five-year PREA agreement includes base salary increases of 3.75%, 3.25%, and 2.75% over its first three years; increases for years four and five will be tied to changes in Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), with minimums set at 2.25% and maximums at 3.75%. A voluntary retirement incentive plan offers benefits for eligible teachers who give four years’ notice.
The Board also finalized a separate five-year contract in April with its Support Staff Council (SSC), which represents custodial, maintenance, administrative, and clerical staff across District schools under President Brian Mowinski’s leadership. That contract provides significant wage increases in its first year—$2.75 per hour for custodians/maintenance staff; $4 per hour for administrative/clerical assistants—and ties future raises to CPI-U metrics as well as offering a similar voluntary retirement incentive plan.
Dr. Collins said about both agreements, “We’re proud to work in a place where we can work together for our students, staff, and community. I want to thank the bargaining teams of the SSC and PREA; they were both fantastic to work with.”
