Dist. 207 talks slow but getting there

Maine Township teachers' union and district administrators wholeheartedly agree over one issue: Contract negotiations are slow.

Officials say the process in District 207 is moving at a snail's pace, causing teachers at Maine West, Maine South and Maine East to work without a contract since Aug. 15.

But the good news is both sides feel like they are "making progress," as Superintendent Joel Morris put it this week.

The word "strike" is definitely not on anyone's lips right now. Both sides say they are confident issues will be resolved eventually, but no one can definitely say when.

Neither group will talk about contract specifics. But the contract's exact wording has decelerated the process that began in February, said Jeff Bergen, District 207 school board member who's also a member of the negotiating team.

Next week, the union and the district's negotiating team will have another crack at ironing out their differences at 4 p.m. Thursday at the R.J. Frost Administration Center, 1131 S. Dee Road.

It's one of five meetings in October.

"It's going slow," Bergen said. "It's not going badly. No one is nervous about anything. There is no huge gulf between us."

Relations between the two are now on an even keel, but earlier this month, it had been frosty.

A letter dated Sept. 5 from the district to parents about the progress of negotiations soured the union. The letter had stated that a federal mediator might be called in.

The union felt the letter "painted a picture of the process that was uglier than it really was," said Jose Arguello, union president.

The district said it was only informing parents of the status with no intention of alarming anyone. Still, the union responded in kind with its own public letter, noting its displeasure with the district's gesture.

Of course that was weeks ago. The district has no plans so far of issuing a new letter, Bergen said, while the union has "moved on," Arguello said.

Now the question is when will a new contract be signed. The last 5-year contract was agreed upon in October of that year, Bergen said.

This time around, no one would venture a guess as to when teachers will have a new contract.

"It's going to take a bit more time," Arguello said.