Chicago Public Schools officially canceled Monday classes in an email notifying parents that the teachers union strike would continue for at least another day as negotiators continue bargaining over class sizes and staffing levels.
CPS CEO Janice Jackson made the announcement in an email updating the negotiations.
“Our class size offer would allocate over $10 million to support additional staffing for the relatively small number of overcrowded classrooms in the district, and our staffing proposal would go above and beyond the public commitment Mayor Lightfoot and I made over the summer to hire hundreds of additional social workers, nurses and special education case managers,” Jackson said. “Through both of these proposals, we have worked to create solutions that will promote equity and ensure resources are directed to the schools that need them most.”
At a late news conference, union officials said they made progress on issues like counselors but need smaller class sizes. The union made a counterproposal on class sizes, a CTU member said.
One member of CTU’s bargaining team hailed an agreement reached earlier in the day to have dedicated positions to help homeless students.
The two sides had spent time discussing affordable housing and rent control on Sunday, but according to an administration source, the mayor’s side reiterated the administration’s opposition to putting those issues in a contract where it says they don’t belong.
The union also got language added into the contract to ensure pre-K classrooms have a 10-1 student-to-adult ratio, an official announced Sunday night.
Talks started at 11 a.m. at Malcolm X College, where players on both sides have been meeting since the strike was announced late Wednesday. CTU President Jesse Sharkey and Vice President Stacy Davis Gates also attended the bargaining sessions.
An email sent late Saturday said members of the group Parents 4 Teachers planned to canvass the area around Welles Park in Ravenswood, not far from the bustling shops and restaurants of Lincoln Square.
Sharkey, in the email, said eight tentative agreements were made during negotiations Saturday, “especially on a charter moratorium and on pipeline for hiring more teachers of color.”
“Big issues remain around pay and benefits, enforcement mechanisms for class size and staffing, teacher preparation time and duration of the contract,” the email continued.
Picket lines already have been scheduled for 6:30 a.m. Monday, and Sharkey said an afternoon demonstration is expected as well.
“Rest up this weekend, stay strong, and keep up the pressure, It’s working. We can do this. We will do this — together,” the email said.
Check back for updates.
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