More than 6,000 East Saint Louis students are returning to school after a one-month teachers’ strike. District officials and union negotiators struck a tentative deal Friday after a 13-hour bargaining session that lasted until 1:30 AM. The four-year contract was quickly endorsed by a majority of the roughly 400 striking teachers as well as the school board and a state-appointed financial oversight panel. The district has been under state control since 2011 because of its poor performance. The compromise plan pays a $3,000 bonus in lieu of a raise to all but first-year teachers. New and veteran teachers will receive two more bonus payments totaling $3,000 later this school year. In return, the new contract extends by eight years the amount of time it takes teachers to reach top scale.
