The Valley View School District 365-U Board announced Friday afternoon that it has reached a tentative agreement with the members of Valley View Council Local 604 of the American Federation of Teachers, potentially avoiding a strike.

In the announcement, the district said that “after numerous and extensive rounds of negotiations,” it reached a tentative deal with the union Thursday.

The agreement follows months of negotiations that began in January and resulted in union members voting to authorize a strike at the end of August. If a deal had not been reached, the union was threatening to strike starting Sept. 15.

The tentative deal avoids the possibility of the strike for now, and classes will not be disrupted, according to the district.

While the tentative deal ensures a continuation of the school year as normal for the next few weeks, the union membership and full school board still need to vote to approve the contract before it can be finalized.

Teachers union President Jared Ploger said that the union needs to distribute final copies of the proposed contract to its members and do presentations explaining details and insurance changes before it can vote.

Ploger said the plan is to organize those presentations next week, and they “want to try to take a vote as soon as possible.”

“We are glad that we have reached an agreement that puts students first and is fair for staff,” Ploger said to union members in a statement. “This process was long and difficult, but we knew that VVC members and our community were standing behind our bargaining team. We appreciate your support and solidarity in this important fight.

“It’s not a good feeling to be pushed to the brink of a strike – and our students and families know we would always rather be in school working with students," Ploger continued. “Thankfully, united, we were able to settle a contract before that happened, and we will present to our membership an agreement that reflects the best interests of the students and the district.”

He added that the teachers will continued to “collaborate with the board and district administration to ensure we are giving our students the education they deserve and the support they need.”

No details of the deal will be made public until union members have seen the full contract.

One of the major sticking points in the negotiations was a proposal by the district to extend the school day by 20 minutes for the district’s two high schools – Romeoville High School and Bolingbrook High School – a plan that had received pushback from teachers, students and parents.

It is unclear how the issue was settled in the tentative agreement.

Valley View district staff have been working without a contract since the start of the school year, which began one day before the previous contract expired.

“This agreement will provide students with high-quality education while also respecting our taxpayers and recognizing the invaluable contributions of our educators and the respect they deserve,” Valley View School District Board President Steve Quigley said. “I would like to thank all of the board members involved in this long process.”

He also thanked the Valley View “senior administration team of [Superintendent] Keith Wood, Teresa Polson, John Reiniche and Sarah DeDonato.”