Chicago School District agrees to minimum 16% teacher pay raise
Chicago’s public school district and its teachers union have agreed to a tentative contract that includes a 4% pay increase in the first year.
Chicago’s junk-rated public school district and its teachers union have agreed to a tentative contract that includes a 4% pay increase in the first year, ending months of negotiations.
The proposed agreement would increase costs for Chicago Public Schools by $1.5 billion over four years, Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez said during a press conference Tuesday. Martinez added that expenses will rise by as much as $125 million in the current fiscal year, the first year of the contract. Teachers will get raises of at least 16% over the four years, with possible increases due to inflation.
Under the proposal, an entry-level teacher will earn more than $69,000, with median educators making about $98,000 in the 2026 fiscal year, a release from the district states.
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Chicago Teachers Union’s leadership will seek approval from its House of Delegates and then its full membership, after which Martinez will advance the contract to the board of education for sign off. Last July, the board approved a budget for the current fiscal year, which runs through June 30, that did not include the additional cost of the new teachers contract nor a pension payment the city was seeking.
Martinez said the district has enough revenue to cover the cost of the new contract in the first year but is concerned about structural deficits in the future.
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“The money that we have is there to pay for year one,” Martinez said. “I have no worries about this year. My worries are all about the future.”
