(UPDATED 3/30/22 AT 8:13 A.M.)

The Champaign teachers union and the school board reached a tentative agreement after negotiating into the early morning hours. A ratification vote will happen Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the district released a statement on behalf of the school board and the teacher’s union saying:

“The Board of Education and the Champaign Federation of Teachers (CFT) are pleased to announce that they have reached a Tentative Agreement for a new, four-year collective bargaining agreement.  CFT will bring the Agreement to its members for ratification on Tuesday, April 5.  Once it is approved by members, the Board will vote to approve the Agreement.  Out of respect for this process, neither the Board nor the union will share any additional information regarding the details of the Agreement until it is formally approved by both parties.”

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – As of 10 p.m. Tuesday night, the bargaining meeting between the Champaign school board and teachers union was still going on. That meeting started at 7 p.m.

In a news release from the union, there was no end time to the meeting. A news release from the board said it would end at 10.

Teachers in the Champaign School District have been working without a contract for nearly a year now. It’s been a lot of back and forth between the union and board. The big ticket item is that extended school day for elementary schools.

The board said it would extend students’ days by 45 minutes, and teachers’ days by 15. That’s after, they said, working to come to a compromise with CFT.

The union said they feel like they’ve come with honest compromises themselves, but nothing has been agreed upon.

That’s why they said a strike could come as soon as Monday. Teachers were picketing ahead of the negotiation meeting on Tuesday. Many of them said it’s not fair for the teachers, students or rest of the community what’s happening.

“It’s a lot. I’m a third year teacher, so this is a lot in my third year. Nobody wants a strike. I don’t want a strike, but we want to be in working conditions that are sustainable, and we want the best for our kids. That’s all we want,” Sequoia Munoz, a 5th grade teacher at International Prep Academy, said.

“We are ready. We are getting our steps in right now, ready for whatever is going to be necessary in order to reach an agreement that works for the teachers, as this is our labor contract, and also the students and the community as a whole,” Olivia Jones, a 5th grade teacher at Westview, said.

If the board and the union don’t come to an agreement, a teacher strike could start as soon as Monday.

This is a developing story.