Crete-Monee Delays Vote on Non-Union and Administrative Salary Increases

Crete-Monee Board of Education Meeting | April 21, 2026

Article Summary: The Crete-Monee Board of Education voted Tuesday to postpone the approval of 2026-2027 salary increases for administrators and non-union staff in order to split the items into separate voting measures.

Salary Increase Postponement Key Points:

• The original action report combined the compensation approvals for both administrators and non-union staff.

• Board Member William J. Sawallisch Jr. successfully requested the items be separated because the two employee groups have different salary increase percentages.

• According to the agenda packet, overall administrative costs are projected to decrease by 3.60% next year due to the elimination of three positions.

The Crete-Monee Board of Education on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, opted to delay a vote on the 2026-2027 employment agreements and salary increases for district administrators and non-union employees.

The item was removed from the evening’s action reports and postponed to the board’s May regular business meeting at the request of Board Member William J. Sawallisch Jr. Sawallisch noted that because the proposed salary increases feature different percentages for administrators versus non-union support staff, the board should vote on them as two separate measures.

“In the past, which I think moving forward, the non-union and the administrative contract or raises should be separate because the percentages are different,” Sawallisch explained during the meeting. “I want them split out.”

The board unanimously agreed to postpone the vote to allow the administration time to draft two distinct action items for the May meeting.

According to the agenda packet provided for the meeting, the proposed contracts will result in individual salary increases for the retained staff, though the overall budget line items for these groups will shrink due to staffing reductions.

The packet details that overall administration costs will decrease by 3.60% next year, attributed to the reduction of three administrative positions. Similarly, overall non-union employee costs are projected to decrease by 4.58%, attributed to four retirements and the reduction of three non-union positions.

To provide context for the upcoming May votes, the district’s action report noted that members of the Crete Monee Education Association (the teachers’ union) are slated to receive a 4.35% increase for the 2026-27 school year based on their collective bargaining agreement.