CHAMPAIGN -- Unit 4 teachers will vote on a new collective bargaining agreement next week.

Mike Sitch, co-president of the Champaign Federation of Teachers, said that the bargaining team reached a "tentative agreement" with the school district Monday night.

"Members are going to have the time to review the full agreement before we'll be voting on it, which will be next Wednesday," Sitch told The News-Gazette. "If ratified by membership, it'll then go to the board of education for a vote."

Sitch declined to share details about the terms of the agreement at this time.

He said that the federation represents over 900 certified staff in Champaign schools.

The most recent contract was approved by 76 percent of union members in April 2022, with the federation and school district managing to reach a deal ahead of a planned strike.

One point of contention was the school board's proposal to extend the elementary school day; in the end, the contract added 35 minutes for students and five minutes for teachers.

The agreement, which was reached after a lengthy and heated negotiation process that took the better part of a year, was retroactive to July 2021.