Chicago Board of Education votes to ratify CTU contract

The Chicago Board of Education voted Thursday to ratify the contract with the CTU which calls for 4% cost of living increases, additional pay for veteran teachers, additional teacher assistance smaller class sizes and more prep time for teachers.

The agreement comes after nearly a year of negotiations by the two parties.

“We are glad that the Board of Education agrees with nearly 100% of CTU members who voted to ratify the contract. It makes sense that they, too, agree with smaller class sizes, providing arts education and world languages to Chicago’s students and expanding school libraries and hiring more school librarians,” a statement shared by the CTU following the approval read in part.

The board has said it has the money for the first year but is not certain how it will pay for the remainder of the $1.5 billion dollar contract.

The CTU voted to ratify the tentative agreement with CPS just weeks ago.

97% of CTU members who voted approved the contract and about 85% of the CTU’s 27,000 eligible voting members participated.