HEA ratifies labor contract

HARRISBURG – Harrisburg Education Association members ratified a revised labor contract with the Unit 3 school board Thursday, voting in favor of the agreement 95-5.

Harrisburg Superintendent Mike Gauch said he was looking forward to the board's acceptance of the contract.

"I'm ecstatic," Gauch said. "We're going to have our board meeting on Monday to ratify and I think we're going to get this done and it'll be over. I can't wait."

School board members voted Tuesday to call a special meeting on March 27 in the event that the union ratified the contract.

A languague issue regarding borrowed sick time kept the board from approving the contract as ratified by the teachers' union in December during the January and February regular board meetings. A compromise on that language, creation of an insurance committee including HEA members and a promise not to reduce any certified staff members was included in the most recent variation of the contract.

The 2-year agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2016.