Support staff at Wilmette Public Schools District 39 could walk off the job as early as Nov. 10, after their union filed a 10-day strike notice amid a monthslong standoff over wages, health insurance and paid holidays. The Wilmette Support Staff Union represents 183 nurses, custodians, paraprofessionals, technology staffers and others across the district, and members voted to authorize a strike if necessary.
A Near-Unanimous Strike Vote
According to Patch, 93% of union members approved the strike authorization, a figure that tracks with reporting from the union and school board describing more than 90% of voting members backing the move. The union and district have been negotiating a new contract since April, and the previous agreement expired in August, leaving support staff without a current contract for months while talks dragged on. The strike notice was filed with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, and under state law, educational employees cannot strike until at least 10 days have passed after that notice is given, per Section 1130.40 of the Illinois Administrative Code.
The reports are consistent on the number of bargaining sessions: Patch's report states the parties have met 11 times, including three sessions with a federal mediator, while The Record North Shore reported the union and district met eight times between April and June, with a federal mediator leading the three most recent sessions since August. Either way, the next mediation date is set for Nov. 12, two days after the earliest possible strike date, according to the same Patch report.
Wages, Health Insurance and Holidays Remain Sticking Points
The union says the key unresolved issues are higher wages, no changes to health-insurance premium contributions, and paid holidays for 10-month employees. District 39 has proposed raises of 7.25% for paraprofessionals and custodians and 5.25% for other support staff for the 2026-27 school year, with additional increases for some positions, Patch reports. Per board messaging, those additional increases reportedly include a 20% wage bump for nurses and a 13.59% increase for head custodians; The Record North Shore reported an 11.05% increase for AM custodians.
The district says it withdrew a proposed future health-insurance cost-sharing provision and agreed to add three paid holidays for 10-month employees, per the same account. The union has said the district's proposal will not fix the underlying issues, and its own proposal reportedly requested at least $3 more per hour for each support staffer, filed around Oct. 23. By contrast, District 39's proposed 5.25% increase would equal about $1 more per hour for an employee earning $21 per hour, according to board figures cited in reporting.
Union Leaders Describe Pay and Retention Concerns
WSSU President Michelle McGregor said the union wants a fair agreement that brings support-staff pay into alignment with surrounding districts, telling Patch, “reaching a fair agreement that brings our pay into alignment with surrounding districts.” Union representatives have also said support-staff compensation is among the lowest in the area and that the district's offered wage increases are insufficient, according to a union press release, adding that current wages contribute to retention and hiring problems and that staffing shortages are negatively affecting both staffers and students.
WSSU Vice President Elizabeth Candido, a longtime Wilmette resident and district paraprofessional, said she earns just $29,000 a year after five years with the district. “After five years with the district, I earn just $29,000,” Candido told Patch, adding that she expects the community to want the school board to invest in the staff who serve students.
District Says It Is Preparing Contingency Plans
The District 39 Board of Education sent a message to families after the union's strike vote, signed by Anne Hart, saying the board is balancing support for district employees with its duty to community taxpayers. The board said the district is preparing contingency plans in case of a strike, which may include school closures, remote learning, or operating school with adjusted schedules and services, and that any emergency closure days could be made up at the end of the school year. The board added it will communicate more details to families, teachers and staff as plans firm up, and said it remains committed to bargaining toward a fair successor agreement that is responsible to the Wilmette community.
A Statewide Pattern of Support-Staff Shortages
The Wilmette dispute echoes a broader statewide trend. A March 27, 2025, story from the Illinois News Bureau at the University of Illinois reported that, in fall 2022, the rate of unfilled vacancies for certificated staff statewide was 5.6%, more than double the 2.6% rate for teachers and far above the 0.9% rate for administrators, with shortages of nonteaching staff most severe in cities, averaging 4.5%. More recent figures from the Illinois State Board of Education, reported by Shaw Local, show statewide teacher vacancies fell 24% between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, but 2,134 paraprofessional jobs and 964 school support personnel jobs remained vacant statewide in fall 2025 despite a $120 million Teacher Vacancy Grant aimed at recruitment and retention.
Other Illinois districts have recently resolved similar disputes without a walkout. The Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education unanimously approved a new three-year contract for its support staff on Oct. 26, according to IPM Newsroom, with the Champaign Education Support Professionals agreement running through June 2029 and overall raises of roughly 5% to 9% for the 2026-27 school year, along with an increased district health-insurance contribution and 10 days of paid parental leave for employees with three years of service. Even so, some Champaign support staff criticized the deal, noting that a 9% raise for the lowest-paid workers, who earn less than $18 an hour, still amounts to less than $2 more per hour.
For now, whether Wilmette District 39 reaches a similar resolution before Nov. 10 remains to be seen, with both sides set to return to the table with a federal mediator on Nov. 12.
