Meridian teachers still negotiating contract, over one month into school

MACON, Ill. (WAND) — Teachers at Meridian CUSD #15 have been working without a contract for the last few months. The Meridian Federation of Teachers started contract negotiations back in June. Thursday night, members of MFT met with members of the Meridian School Board to continue negotiations.

Before the meeting, union members and supporters of the Meridian Federation of Teachers lined the entrance of Meridian Middle School.

Brian Pekovitch, the MFT President, said that the union has been garnering support on social media from other school unions in the surrounding area. He said that gathering in front of the meeting shows that the community will is on the same page for creating a student-centric solution. "We're hoping that — through tonight — there's more of a visual sign for our school board," said Pekovitch. "So that teachers here in our district can feel like they are supported."

Pekovitch said that the union is aiming to improve teacher retention, no matter how long teachers have been with the district. "We want to make sure that we provide a contract that will make them want to stay here at Meridian."

However, their main goal is to do what is best for the students.

"Our focus is our students, and we want the best for them. From pre-kindergarten, all the way through 12th grade," Pekovitch explained. "It's best for our students to have teachers that are here and have been here for a long time, so that they'll want to stay."

Pekovitch said the union was eager to make progress during the meeting. "We just want to see progress — an open dialogue, and settle something. It's been too long, and I feel like we need to get moving on this."

Despite the drawn-out process of re-negotiating their contract, Pekovitch reiterated that the gathering before the meeting was to show that the union wanted a positive outcome for everyone involved — and a mutually beneficial solution. "Meridian is a great district. We have a great faculty and staff, and we just want to keep everybody here and provide for them the way they deserve."

WAND reached out to the Meridian CUSD and they declined comment.

Thursday night's meeting lasted 5 hours and adjourned at 10:30 p.m. In an email, Pekovitch said that "minimal progress was made."