Crystal Lake school district 47 administration illegally hires outside firm to recruit temporary teachers, engages in bad faith bargaining

This new charge comes after District 47 entered into a settlement for illegally hiring education support staff.

CRYSTAL LAKE - The Crystal Lake Elementary Teachers Association (CLETA) this week filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) after Community Unit School District 47 administrators violated the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (IELRA) and illegally retained a recruiting firm to hire temporary teachers. CLETA is currently engaged in federal mediation with the District 47 board of education regarding contract negotiations and on Tuesday evening CLETA declared impasse.

The union learned district administrators retained four staffing agencies to fill open positions. The agencies current temporary employees were retained in June and July. Bringing in these firms is a direct violation of the current CLETA contract and the Illinois School Code. It is also what's known as bad faith bargaining.

"Hiring an outside staffing firm is not only illegal, it's a band aid. It doesn't get to the root of our hiring issues. The real solution is a fair contract that helps us attract and retain the best educators around, and we can only get that at the bargaining table," CLETA spokesperson Jen Rutishauser said. "We should be looking for committed teachers, who come here and stay here. We know our students benefit from consistency and working with the same dedicated educators year after year."

The four staffing agencies are being paid more than $1.8 million dollars for 13 positions. They're paying as much as $276,000 per temporary position, which means the district is paying up to four times more than the CLETA average salary, which is $65,000, for doing the same work. The agencies are also providing different benefits than the rest of the CLETA bargaining unit receive. In addition, it is worth noting that temporary employees are not part of the bargaining unit and cannot join the union.

"We're at the table bargaining in good faith, working with the federal mediator, trying to come to an agreement. Meanwhile, the board is spending nearly $2 million, hard-earned taxpayer dollars to hire an outside firm to get temporary teachers in here. Meanwhile, they're also spending tens of thousands of additional tax dollars on a law firm to help them with the bargaining process that's been dragging on for almost a year. It's counterproductive and a waste of money. It's unreal," Rutishauser said. "They need to get their priorities straight. They should be focused on honoring the talented, hard-working teachers they have, who are committed to this community - not bringing in outsiders to do our jobs."

All of this comes after the district faced similar charges from the Crystal Lake Association of Support Staff (CLASS). CLASS represents education support staff who work in District 47. CLASS filed a ULP against District 47 in the fall of 2023. In May, the IELRB announced a settlement. CLASS employees were all given immediate raises, a second raise before the start of the school year, a $2,000 payment and additional paid time off as a result of the settlement.

CLETA has been bargaining with the District 47 BOE since October in the hopes of reaching a fair contract. The two teams entered federal mediation in June. CLETA is working without a contract and declared impasse on Tuesday, triggering the public posting process. There are 670 educators in the CLETA bargaining unit serving the more than 7,000 students who attend District 47 schools.

The next federally mediated bargaining session is set for Sept. 24.

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The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state's largest union. IEA represents Pre K-12 teachers outside the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.

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