Chicago teachers to look at new contract

Chicago teachers were looking Sunday at a new contract that could end their weeklong strike, union officials said. The Chicago Teachers Union's House of Delegates was set to meet Sunday to look at the city's offer and decide whether to end the strike and allow 350,000 students back into the classroom, the Chicago Tribune reported. Union officials said they hoped classes could resume Monday. Details released just before midnight Saturday call for a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year, with a 3 percent increase in the first and fourth year and 2 percent raises in the second and third year, the Tribune said. "Step and lane" increases given out for years of teaching and continuing education would be saved, and standards for teacher evaluations that could lead to firings would be relaxed, the newspaper said. The city did get a longer school day, the newspaper said, and principals will still have a lot of authority when hiring teachers.