Teachers in Dixon, IL could be gearing up to declare a strike tonight.
The District and Dixon education association have been negotiating for almost a year. Now, they are getting ready to go back to the table tonight.
A negotiating session between the union and district will start at 7 p.m. and if negotiations fall through, 166 teachers have the option to go on strike as early as Wednesday.
The Dixon Education Association and district have been negotiating since April.
Dixon school officials said they are trying to be conservative with money. The superintendents say between cuts from the state and lower property taxes the district does not have the money especially because the district is losing $750,000 in aid for fiscal year 2013 compared to fiscal year 2012.
"There's a lot of unknowns, one of the things that's a ways out is the pension or if any will come onto school districts," Dixon Schools Superintendent Michael Juenger said. "Right now on the federal level there's discussion of the sequestering on dollars and how that's going to affect us as well."
The union said there are two big sticking points.
One is money as teachers have had a minimal to some having no raise for the past two years. The other big point is concerns about cuts the district has made over the past few years, saying layoffs, and no upgrades to teaching tools have effected conditions in the classroom.
"Our classrooms are very difficult for our students to learn in, because for one thing they're crowded, our elementary classrooms are very crowded," President of the Dixon Education Association Sandi Sodergren-Baar said. "Our text books are old and should of been replaced a number of years ago. Our technology is inadequate to cover the needs of today's learning. It can be very challenging."
If teachers do decide to go on strike, then school will be canceled.
The superintendent said the first two days will be rough, but after that the district will try and offer child care for kindergarten through 5th graders. If school is canceled, then the make up days will have to be negotiated with the union.
