Cautious optimism seems to characterize the attitudes of negotiators in the talks between Austin Public School District No.

Wednesday, December 22, 1999

Cautious optimism seems to characterize the attitudes of negotiators in the talks between Austin Public School District No. 492.

After spending a full day in negotiations Tuesday, both sides seem to feel they have found a framework to work with.

Teachers have been without a contract since June.

Jeff Ollman, chief negotiator for the teachers, wouldn’t comment on the details before presenting them to the mediator and the teachers, but said things looked workable.

"Well, I think we can say we have the framework for an agreement," Ollman said today. "We now have to get all the information typed up and sent to the mediator, and he will make sure we all agree to the things we think we agree to."

Results won’t be seen until after the new year begins, however.

"He won’t get back to us until probably the end of December," Ollman said. "Then we’d meet with the teachers on Jan. 3, and probably vote on Jan. 6-7."

There was to have been a vote by the teachers on a proposed contract back on Dec. 6-7. However, sticking points and questions became evident immediately when the contract was shown to the teachers on Dec. 2, and the vote was suspended.

Points of contention had arisen in the areas of early retirement and salary increases.

There is a certain time element adding pressure to the district and teachers to get a contract approved and voted on as soon as possible. On Dec. 8, Austin Public Schools Superintendent James Hess had noted that if no agreement was in place by Jan. 15, the district faced a funding cut by the state. State law decrees that if teacher contracts are not in place by that date, the district loses $25 per student. For Austin, that could mean a loss of $120,000.