This breakthrough in negotiations comes on the fifth day of the teachers strike. Both sides announced they reached the agreement in principle early Friday afternoon Many details still need to be worked out in the agreement. Once that work is done, the framework of a new contract must be approved by the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates, which votes on Sunday.
Then school could resume on Monday, so parents are being told to have their students ready.
Negotiations between the two sides resumed Friday morning.
Neither side wanted to talk about any specifics Friday afternoon, in marked contrast to the past week, when they have been explaining a lot of the different issues that have come to the bargaining table.
Not all the i's dotted, nor t's crossed, but the message from Chicago school board president David Vitale is that the heavy lifting is over, the framework is in place, and his direct advice is, "Have your kids ready for school Monday."
All that is contingent upon the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates approving what its negotiating team is recommending to them that they accept.
Negotiators on both sides say they believe they have the agreement -- the framework for an agreement -- that will bring an end to this weeklong strike.
"The board responded favorably to a proposal advanced by the union last night, and we think that may have broken the logjam in negotiations," said CTU Attorney Robert Bloch Friday afternoon.
The CTU's lead attorney would not say what proposal broke the logjam, though it is believed to hinge on the key intertwined issues of teacher evaluations and teacher recall.
Not long after the union said an agreement was at hand, the school board president said the same.
"I am pleased to tell you that we have in place frameworks around all of the major issues that should allow us to conclude this process," said Chicago school board president David Vitale.
The administration, too, declines to discuss any specifics, though CPS negotiators earlier had relaxed their position on the contentious issue of teacher evaluations, saying that in the first year of their use, they would use them for feedback only.
Both sides agree that what is left is language, and if the CTU's House of Delegates Sunday approves this tentative deal, schools are back in session Monday.
"We are hopeful that we will have a complete agreement done by Sunday, that when the House of Delegates review it, that they will have confidence in that agreement and that they will vote to suspend the strike so students can return to school on Monday," said Bloch.
Assuming an end to the strike, how does a cash-strapped district pay for what has been referred to as a four-year agreement with 16 percent in pay hikes?
"They're going to have to right-size the system," said the Civic Federation's Laurence Msall. "You're going to have to get rid of the under enrolled schools and eliminate non-performing schools and have a lot less schools and a lot less personnel to run the schools."
Where and how many under enrolled and underperforming schools would be closed has not been finalized.
Board president Vitale says there is no finalized plan for that yet. His message Friday -- and also the message from the union -- is that if they can work out the language, and both negotiating teams will go back at that Saturday, then the House of Delegates for the union will vote on Sunday, and if there aren't any hiccups, then there will be a final agreement, and kids will be back in the classroom on Monday morning.
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Friday, September 14th 2012 at 6:20PM
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