© 2023 Peoria Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

No deal in round 2 of federally-mediated Peoria teacher contract talks

DSC_0444.JPG
Tim Shelley
/
WCBU
Teachers and their supporters rallied outside of a Peoria Public Schools board meeting last month.

The Peoria Federation of Teachers will continue negotiations on a new contract with Peoria Public Schools next week.

PFT president Jeff Adkins-Dutro said the Wednesday bargaining sessions continued until 1:30 a.m. Thursday, but no agreement was reached, saying he was "disappointed" by the outcome.

Peoria Public Schools board president Martha Ross said in a statement Thursday afternoon that the district has settled all compensation-related items with the Peoria Federation of Teachers.

Ross said the next federally-mediated meeting next Thursday will focus on settling the last non-compensation related item still outstanding.

But in a social media post, the union called that claim an "untruth."

Ross said she's confident an agreement will be reached next week.

The Peoria Federation of Teachers voted last week to authorize a strike, though that wouldn't likely happen until October at the earliest.

The union began negotiating with the district administration back in March. A federal mediator was called in after 19 rounds of bargaining.

Teachers are currently working under an expired contract. The next mediation session is set for Thursday, Sept. 15.

We depend on your support to keep telling stories like this one. You – together with donors across the NPR Network – create a more informed public. Fact by fact, story by story. Please take a moment to donate now and fund the local news our community needs. Your support truly makes a difference.

Tim is the News Director at WCBU Peoria Public Radio.