Cairo teachers, school board making progress with talks

CAIRO, Ill. -- Negotiators for striking teachers and the Cairo School Board reported progress Tuesday night in talks aimed at ending the nearly two-week-old walkout.

As the latest round of negotiations began, the union representing the district's 71 teachers made a multiyear proposal and received a counteroffer from the district, union president Ron Newell said. Then the two sides began trading ideas, he said.

"We haven't hit a snag yet, but we don't have any formal proposals on any of the important issues," Newell said.

Barney Mundorf, the school board's lawyer, was even more optimistic, saying the two sides had made "substantial progress."

Both men warned that even if the bargaining continued to go smoothly, an agreement would not come before Wednesday.

Teachers walked out on April 25 after working without a new agreement since August, when the district's four-year contract expired.

Tuesday's session was the first in nearly a week, when a federal mediator called a "cooling off" period.

The dispute over salary and benefits is unusually complex because the previous contract tied a portion of the teachers' yearly raises to increases in state funding.

Parents have signed petitions and threatened legal action if the sides fail to reach agreement.