Proviso D209 school board members booed, heckled at meeting amid teachers strike

FOREST PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- The Proviso Township High School District 209 school board was booed and heckled at a very heated meeting Tuesday night.

People shouted, chanted, and booed the board as a teachers' strike in the west suburban district stretches on.

The teachers have been working without a contract since June 2021. The negotiations in the Proviso Township High School District have been bogged down over issues including pay increases and class sizes.

The district said it has increased its salary proposal offer from 7% over three years to 9%, but said the teachers at Proviso East in Maywood, Proviso West in Hillside and Proviso Math and Science Academy in Forest Park are demanding a 13.25% increase.

Earlier Tuesday, there was a protest and march in Hillside to the meeting at Proviso West.

Monday night, district officials said they had proposed a one week "cooling off" period after negotiations remained stalls, in which teachers and students would return to school as negotiations continued under the guidance of a federal mediator.

Officials said the Proviso Teachers Union rejected the offer, and so canceled classes from Tuesday, March 15 through Thursday March 17.

Students are already off next week for spring break.

The next mediation session is set for Thursday, but informal negotiations continue, district officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.