Dist. 211 OKs deal for its support staff

The Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board's approval of the support staff contract Thursday brought a sense of deja vu.

That's because the two-year contract proposal mirrors the teachers pact agreed to in November. Members at Tuesday night's special meeting approved the contract by a vote of 5 to 2.

The support staff consists of 288 employees, including clerical staffers and student supervisors, Assistant Superintendent for Finance David Torres said.

The increases match the base pay the board approved during the contentious labor talks with teachers. The heated talks almost led to a strike.

For the 2007-08 school year, the support staff would receive a 3.25 percent increase in base salary with a 0.7 percent lump-sum for insurance costs, Torres said. For 2008-09, the increase would depend on the Consumer Price Index -- All Urban, or CPI-U, which measures the rate of inflation set by the federal government. Analysts project that number will hover around 3 percent. In the second year, staff will get a lump sum of 1.2 percent, Torres added.

Torres said the use of CPI-U would allow the salaries to be tied into the money the district was generating through tax dollars.

Board secretary Anna Klimkowicz noted the board voted the same way as it did for the teachers contract. In November, the teachers contract was also approved 5 to 2, with Klimkowicz and fellow board member Bill Lloyd casting the dissenting votes, as they did again Thursday.

"We extended the budget line item more than 3 percent," she said. "I just can't support that."

Klimkowicz said she voted against the agreement using the same rationale she did when voting against the teachers contract. She said by granting employees base-salary increases of more than 3 percent, the school board wasn't properly spending money generated by a 2005 tax increase approved by voters. The money, school officials said, was needed to stop program cuts to sports and other extracurriculars.

Before voters approved the tax hike, Klimkowicz said the community was told the board would hold tight on employee raises.

District 211 is the largest high school district in the state, consisting of Conant, Fremd, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Schaumburg high schools.