Two mediation dates were scheduled recently to settle the dispute between the Tumwater Education Association and the Tumwater School District. The Tumwater Teachers union and the district have been unable to come to an agreement concerning the teachers’ contracts.

Bargaining teams will meet with the mediator twice, the first time toward the end of April and then again in early May. The meeting will be held through the state Public Employment Relations Commission. According to a spokesperson, the parties jointly filed for mediation services, which is considered a positive sign by many.

The two sides have spent weeks at an impasse concerning contract negotiations. Tumwater has nearly 400 teachers, all of whom have been working under an expired contract since school began last year. More recently, union members have participated in picket lines in front of the district’s headquarters in an attempt to call community attention to their negotiation plight.

The teachers are not the only ones demanding change within the Tumwater district. The district is also negotiating with the Tumwater Office Professionals Association, which is the union that represents secretaries, office assistants, and administrative assistants that work in the school system. The district recently made what it called a comprehensive proposal that included benefits, wages, and reclassification to this particular union.

Two of the major sticking points in contract negotiations with teachers are supplemental compensation and planning time for those working in lower grade schools. Teachers point out Tumwater ranks in the lowest in compensation among area schools. Both sides are optimistic mediation could be efficient and help them work out a new contract.