The District 233 school board unanimously approved three-year contracts with the Homewood-Flossmoor Education Organization, the teachers union, and HFCSO representing clerical staff, at its Sept. 17 meeting.
The teachers’ contract doesn’t provide a flat amount increase to all Homewood-Flossmoor High School staff covered by the contract. Increases were based on a teacher’s years of service, years of education, years til retirement, etc., said Rob Anderson, teacher negotiator.
Lawrence Cook, chief school business official, said the projected total base salary cost for the three-year teacher contract is approximately $73.1 million, averaging around $24.4 million per year.
“This represents a 14.1% increase, or 4.7% per year, compared to the previous three-year contract,” Cook said.
A first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree who stays at H-F, will receive a 6.7% increase between the $57,000 salary this year, and the $60,806 salary in 2025-26, and another 6.1% increase in 2026-27 to a salary of $64,535.
Anderson said he was especially happy with the salary increase from $16 to $22 an hour for instructional assistants who work one-to-one with a student or are working with teachers as extra classroom support.
Before the board voted on the contract, board member Steve Anderson raised concerns about the high cost of the contract. He said his fiduciary obligations to the district are to remind everyone that future expenses will likely outpace District 233 revenue.
He said the district’s fund balance is being used to underwrite capital projects, such as the recent addition of the Fine Arts wing, remodeling of the Career and Technical Education spaces in North Building, and the science wing now under construction.
He acknowledged that the district wants to fairly compensate its staff, but with state restrictions on the amount the district can levy and outside sources, such as grants and federal funds, “drying up,” Anderson said the district could find itself in a cash crunch.
The board member noted that costs have continued to rise each year, but “over the past seven years the district’s only been able to increase the levy by an average of 3.4%.”
In other business, the board also approved a contract between the district and the HFCSO representing the clerical staff. They will receive a 5% increase this year and a 4% increase in 2025-26. Negotiations will determine the 2026-27 salary.
The board adopted the 2024-25 operating budget of $72.73 million in revenues and $70.83 million in expenses.
The majority of the budget is funded by real estate taxes, expected to generate $38.56 million. Other local revenues estimate is $4.62 million. State support through Evidence Based Funding is projected at $23.17 million, including an additional $389,000 as a Tier 2 school. That additional revenue is meant to give some relief to districts with high tax rates.