Teachers at Oak Park and River Forest High School and the OPRF District 200 school board have approved a new five year teachers contract that for the first time ties raises to the increase of the consumer price index (CPI). The school board unanimously approved the new contract at its June 11 school board meeting while OPRF teachers voted to approve the contract on May 29.
“We are excited to reach an agreement that continues to fairly compensate our teachers for the excellent work they do for our students on behalf of our community each year,” said Audrey Williams-Lee, school board president, and Andrew Brown, Faculty Senate president, in a joint statement posted on the OPRF website. “This five-year contract allows the district to stay within its budget, while helping us to remain competitive as we work to recruit and retain exemplary teachers.”
The Faculty Senate is the OPRF teachers union and represents all certified staff members at the school who are not administrators. Brown did not respond to an email asking how many teachers voted in favor of the new contract and how many voted against approving the contract.
A key provision of the new contract is the link to CPI in the last four years of the contract. Since the school district’s main source of revenue, its property tax levy, is limited by Illinois law to the annual increase of CPI or 5%, whichever is less, many suburban school districts have been moving for years to link teacher raises to CPI.
In the upcoming school year teachers at OPRF will receive raises in base pay ranging from $750 to $3,100 with, in general, the least experienced teachers getting the biggest raises. Teachers with 25 years of experience or less will get raises of at least $2,600 next year. Teachers with a masters degree and 25 or fewer years of experience will receive base raises of $2,900. Teachers with 30 or more hours of graduate work beyond a master’s degree with receive base raises of $3,100 next year.
The starting salary for a first year teacher with only a bachelor’s degree will be $66,448 next year. A teacher with master’s degree and 10 years’ experience will earn $98,548 while a teacher with 30 graduate school hours beyond a masters degree and 25 years’ experience will earn $151,048. According to the most recent Illinois School Report Card the average pay for an OPRF teacher was $115,217. When step increases and increases in base pay are added together overall increases in pay next year for OPRF teachers will range from around four percent to approximately seven percent with less experienced teachers getting the highest percentage raises.
“Our goal was to make sure that we’re being very competitive with how we pay to both retain and attract good teachers and also to be fiscally responsible,” Williams-Lee said in a telephone interview.
In the remaining four years of the contract raises in base pay, which does not include automatic step increases teachers get by advancing one year on the salary schedule, will increase by flat amounts tied to CPI. If CPI is 1.5% or less base pay will increase by $1,250. If CPI increases by 1.6% to 2.9% base pay will increase by $1,500. If CPI increases by 3% to less than 4% base pay will increase by $1,750 and if CPI increases by 4% or more base pay will increase by $2,000.
Linking raises to CPI was a key goal of the administration and school board.
“That was something that was important to us for this contract to be competitive and be fair and fiscally responsible,” said Williams-Lee, who along with board member Graham Brisben were members of the district’s negotiating team.
The new contract also includes provisions to limit benefit costs. Any faculty member who retires no later than the first year they are eligible to retire will receive a lump sum of $5,000; the previous incentive was $15,000. 403(b) match contributions have been reduced from 4% to 3% for Tier 1 Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) employees and from 4% to 3.25% for Tier 2.
The district’s contribution to health insurance premiums has been reduced by 1% for both single and dependent coverage across all plans in years two through five, while dental insurance premium contributions are reduced by 10% for single coverage.
The contract also includes provisions designed to reduce teacher absenteeism which has been an issue at OPRF. According to the Illinois School report card nearly 45 percent of OPRF teachers missed at least 10 days of school in the 2024-25 school year. Sick leave has been restructured to enhance attendance, with teachers now receiving 10 regular sick days instead of 15, as well as a non-replenishable bank of 90 emergency sick days that require documentation. Teachers taking zero to three sick days during the year are eligible for attendance incentives ranging from $600 to $300.
“Focusing on teacher absenteeism was a priority and is a priority of ours,” Williams-Lee said.
A win for teachers is that OPRF will offer tuition reimbursement for teachers to attend graduate school.
Money for tuition reimbursement will come from an annual pool of money that increases from $130,000 in the first year of the contract to $150,000 in the fifth year. In order to receive tuition reimbursement, professional growth plans and pre-approval will be required so that coursework aligns with district goals and strategic priorities.
One OPRF teacher who spoke with Wednesday Journal but asked that her name not be used voted against approving the contract.
“I see it as mostly losses and not many gains,” the teacher said.
The contract was hammered out over 10 negotiating sessions over a three month period.
“It was respectful,” Williams-Lee said. “People were open and listened.”
Williams-Lee said that she thought it was a very solid contract.
“We were able to meet the needs of both the Faculty Senate and the school in a way that was affordable for us and to have a contract that is sustainable,” Williams-Lee said.