ROCKFORD - The Rockford Education Association (REA) and the Rockford Public School District 205 Board of Education (BOE) have officially reached a deal on a new contract. Both the REA and BOE voted to ratify the new contract for teachers in the district.

"We believe this is absolutely a big step in the right direction. This contract does what we wanted it to do: It makes Rockford more competitive with our neighboring districts, which means we will be able to attract talented, new teachers and retain our experienced, dedicated educators. That's a big win for students and for our community," REA President Claudia Marshall said. "That being said, we still have work to do. We know change is incremental, and we will continue working toward even more progress for our students, staff and community."

REA and the district had been bargaining for nearly a year when a tentative agreement was reached on Feb. 12. The REA ratified the agreement on Sunday and the BOE ratified the contract at their meeting tonight.

Bargaining began in February 2025. REA's contract expired in July, which means educators have worked most of the school year without a contract.

"It's been a really difficult year for our teachers. There's been so much extra stress on top of the increasing demands of their jobs. But I think what kept us all going was the community support - all of the parents, neighbors, local businesses, lawmakers who reached out to tell us they are standing with us and to keep going. That's what got us here. Rockford shows up. Rockford values their teachers, and that means the world. We are so grateful," Marshall said.

The new REA contract:

• Creates one month paid parental leave for new parents;
• Makes Rockford teachers' wages more competitive through a 4% salary increase in the first two years of the contract and a 4.5% increase in the final year;
• Provides either retroactive step and lane movement to the start of the school year or a bonus (Step and lane movement ensures teachers are compensated based on their education and years of experience);
• Protects the working conditions of Rockford's special education teachers by not increasing their workload;
• And creates a committee to look at expanding teachers' choice when it comes to retirement options, potentially a large savings for the district.

"The majority of our teachers live in Rockford. We send our children to school here. Many of us went to school here ourselves. We are Rockford. We love this town. This contract is not just an investment in good quality educators and our students; it's an investment in the entire Rockford community," Marshall said.

The Rockford Education Association (REA) represents nearly 2,000 teachers, social workers, counselors, speech pathologists, nurses, psychologists and other licensed staff working and supporting the nearly 28,000 students in District 205.

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The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state's largest union. IEA represents Pre K-12 teachers outside the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.