Fact-finder report released for Chicago Public Schools, teachers; union contract negotiations | LIVE

CHICAGO (WLS) — An independent auditor has released its fact-finder report amid contract negotiations between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union.

So far, there’s been no word of a strike now that the CTU has rejected the fact-finding report, but the union says it’s preparing to expand the bargaining table to include parents and other community members by hosting townhalls.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates responded to a “unprecedented” fact-finding report that the union ultimately rejected but is leaving CTU with hope for the future.

“What it does is it provides us with some renewed optimism that we can begin to push Chicago Public Schools in a place of centering our students and what they need in this report,” Davis Gates said.

The CTU says the report only included recommendations for two of the 15 issues it submitted.

The 19-page report, conducted by a neutral fact finder, sided with some of the union’s demands, including increasing pay for veteran teachers, upping the number of school librarians and hiring more family engagement coordinators.

For example, the report unveiled that 80 percent of Chicago Public Schools do not have a librarian, while only 10 percent of majority African-American schools have one.

The fact finder sided with the CTU on calling for an increase of 30 librarians each year, citing minimal impact to the CPS budget.

“We need to get this done because we need a force field around this school district,” Davis Gates said.

Chicago Public Schools did not specify if it’s accepting the reports results, but released a statement saying, “Chicago Public Schools respects the thorough and objective analysis of the neutral factfinder, and is carefully reviewing all of the recommendations, including the financial, operational and educational implications, to determine the most effective course of action for advancing negotiations.”

Mila Koumpilova, a Chalkbeat reporter covering Chicago Public Schools, says the union’s somewhat hopeful tone could suggest momentum during negotiations in the days ahead.

“The union did strike a more optimistic tone last night and did seem to suggest the report even though they rejected its findings could give some momentum talks at the bargaining table,” Koumpilova said.

So it’s back to the bargaining table for CPS and the CTU. If a strike is called, the union has 30 days to make that call.