KEWANEE, Ill. — Editor's Note: The video above aired on Nov. 16, when the Board announced its last offer.
Members of the Kewanee Education Association union have voted to accept the latest offer from the Kewanee Board of Education on Sunday, Nov. 19.
The groups have been negotiating for a new contract since April. Classes started without a contract in mid-August.
A press release came out Sunday evening with the news of a reached agreement from Illinois Education Association media relations director Bridget Shanahan. Shanahan noted that the contract is not official until the Kewanee Board of Education votes on it, which it is expected to do at its meeting Monday night.
In the statement, Kewanee Education Association President Ruth Kapacinskas wrote:
“Tonight the members of Kewanee Education Association voted to approve our new contract. We believe this contract is a step in the right direction, but there is much more work to be done to make Kewanee a place that attracts talented education support staff and teachers and retains the experienced staff members we have. We are looking forward to continuing to work towards truly making Kewanee a destination district where educators can spend their careers. Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions and we won’t stop until we get that right.
We are incredibly grateful to the Kewanee community who rallied around us. We are humbled by the tremendous outpouring of support. Thank you for standing by us during this time. We look forward to continuing to work together to make sure all our students receive the high-quality public education they deserve.”
No further details will be released until the contract is finalized.
News 8 will update this news story as more information is made available. Download our app and subscribe to our YouTube channel for updates.