I Think CTU and CPS should read my other article – “Chicago Public Schools need an Alpha School Education! On Making The Grade? | Dr. Phil Primetime!!” After eight months of contentious talks that cost CEO Pedro Martinez his job, Chicago Public Schools teacher contract negotiations are entering a decisive phase.

The union and the district provided separate bargaining updates late Friday afternoon suggesting they are making some progress — and both sides said they agreed to pause a neutral fact-finding process that started in October.

The district and union both said they have reached tentative agreements to expand the number of Sustainable Community Schools to 70 over the next four years, hire more English learner teachers and other staff, and jointly look for ways to offer housing help to homeless students.

But many sticking points remain, and union leaders this week accused Martinez of standing in the way of a final deal, saying progress at the bargaining table stalled after a judge ruled on Dec. 24 that the CEO remains in charge of negotiations during his six remaining months on the job.

“The fact that we don’t have a yes now is because of one person, and only one person,” said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates, citing alignment between their proposals and the district’s new five-year strategic plan.

On Friday, Martinez and other district leaders forcefully rejected the idea that the district has blocked progress, countering that in fact much headway has been made.

Martinez had accused school board members, appointed by former CTU employee turned Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, of trying to hijack the process after they voted to fire him without cause late on Dec. 20, the Friday night before the district’s two-week winter break.

CPS officials stressed again that they are pushing back against proposals that the district simply cannot afford amid massive looming deficits — or ones that would hamstring school leaders or affect the amount of time students spend learning core subjects.

“If we overextend ourselves today,” Martinez said at a Friday evening press conference, “it will be our children and our staff who will pay for it tomorrow.”

Here’s a look at some of the remaining disagreements.

Prep time for elementary teachers

For months, the two sides have clashed over a union proposal to give teachers more time during the school day to prepare lessons while students spend extra time in enrichment classes. Davis Gates said Friday there was finally movement but not a formal proposal.

“We are engaged in a discussion that may hopefully get us closer to an elementary school day that provides our young people with a more rounded school day that includes art, music, physical education, instrumental music, choral music, just a wide variety of opportunities,” she said.

CPS officials have said the district is already a leader in providing significant preparation time, with 330 minutes per week on average compared with 240 minutes in New York City and 90 in San Diego. They say they are unwilling to cut back on core instruction, especially at a time when students are still recovering from the academic toll of the pandemic.

Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer, stressed that shortening time for core instruction remains a no-go for the district, and the two sides are exploring new ways to add more prep minutes, including the possibility of lengthening the school year.

In some ways, the disagreement harkens back to 2012, when the district lengthened the school day to seven hours for elementary schools and seven-and-a-half for high schools — a key campaign promise and significant win for former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The change was possible because the district and union agreed that elementary teachers could start their day when students do — removing 30 minutes of prep time that they previously had. The union pushed for getting those 30 minutes back in 2019 but were unsuccessful.

Amount of annual raises

The union opened negotiations by asking for 9% raises annually. CPS countered with 4% to 5% per year. The district says that thanks to these raises, the average teacher in the district would make $115,000 or more a year by the end of the contract in four years. The district has also agreed to health coverage increases at no cost to teachers, whom officials have stressed are the highest paid among colleagues in large districts, except in New York City. Read the full story at Chalk Beat Chicago!