By By JAMES COLLINS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- Niles Community Schools ratified its contract with custodial and maintenance employees at a special board meeting on Monday morning.
The contract covers the rest of this school year and next year.
The terms of the contract include a wage freeze for the two years of the contract, a higher insurance deductible and higher co-pays on prescription drugs.
The contract also requires employees to pay the school district back for a stipend they received at the beginning of the year. The stipend, of $100 to $200, went toward paying for the employees' insurance deductibles.
In November, the school board asked for a preliminary report on the feasibility of privatizing custodial and maintenance operations.
Law said the school district had been in contact with four different companies to explore the cost and services available. In March, the board will make a decision on whether or not it wants a full proposal on the possibility of privatizing the service.
The newly ratified contract will not allow privatization to occur for the next two years.