Anchorage School District and teachers union will resume contract talks Wednesday

The Anchorage School District and the teachers union will resume contract negotiations Wednesday. It's the latest step in the monthslong, at times contentious, bargaining process.

Representatives for the school district and the union, the Anchorage Education Association, will sit down with federal mediators Wednesday in another effort to reach a tentative, three-year contract agreement, according to the union and district. This will be the third round of mediation.

The district and the union have remained locked in contract negotiations since April. Union members are currently working under the terms of their old contract, which expired June 30. The union represents roughly 3,300 educators including classroom teachers, counselors and school nurses.

Frustrations have continued to mount among union members as the contract negotiations continue. Educators have packed Anchorage School Board meetings, airing frustrations about working conditions and, last week, staging a walkout.

The union and district could decide on a tentative contract agreement Wednesday or they could decide they've hit an impasse and continue moving to the next step in the bargaining process — arbitration, according to the union president, Tom Klaameyer. The groups could also decide to have another round of mediation.

Once the district and union reach a tentative contract deal, union members and the school board must vote to ratify the agreement before it takes effect.

There are a list of differences between the district's and union's contract proposals that are posted online. Those include salary, the district's contribution toward health insurance premiums and pay for additional classes taught. The union and district also have different visions for part of the contract about academic freedom, among others.

[Bargaining teams for Anchorage teachers union and school district have a list of items to settle]

Klaameyer and Todd Hess, district chief human resource officer, said last week that progress had been made during the second round of mediation. It's unclear where the group found common ground. They both said the conversations during mediation were confidential.