[h=3]By STEPHANIE BANCHERO[/h]CHICAGO—Chicago teachers and city officials emerged from marathon contract talks early Friday morning without a deal but held out hope that an agreement might be reached later in the day.
Chicago teachers and city officials emerged from marathon contract talks early Friday morning without a deal but held out hope that an agreement might be reached later in the day. Joe Barrett has the latest on Lunch Break.
The two sides spent 15 hours Thursday and into the wee hours of Friday morning trying to come to an agreement to end a teacher strike entering its fifth day that has shut 350,000 students out of classrooms. The strike is the first by city teachers in 25 years.
ReutersChicago Teachers Union members listen to an update about negotiations as they picket on the fourth day of their strike.
Chicago Public Schools Board President David Vitale emerged from contract talks at about 1 a.m. Friday saying there had been progress on the two main sticking points: teacher evaluations and job security for laid-off teachers.
He said the city had some "number crunching to do" but that he was hopeful a deal could be reached by 2 p.m. before the union's governing body, the House of Delegates, is scheduled to meet. That group would need to approve the deal and has the power to call off the strike.
"They agreed to make some changes, we agreed to make some changes," Mr. Vitale said, adding that he thought the sides were close enough to get kids back into school by Monday.
The union and city leaders entered negotiations Thursday hinting that a deal was within reach, but union chief Karen Lewis described the day's talks as "ebb and flow." She noted progress had been made but was less certain an agreement could be reached by Friday's union meeting.
"We had some good conversations, and I think that is a good sign," she said after the talks broke off early Friday.
Negotiations between union and city leaders are scheduled to begin later Friday. In the meantime, thousands of teachers were back on the picket line clad in union-issued red T-shirts and toting placards.
The two sides have reached agreement on some issues and seemed to be nearing a deal on overhauling teacher evaluations by linking them to student test scores.
They also are focused on what to do with teachers displaced by school closings. The city plans to close underenrolled and low-performing schools soon, and union leaders want job-security guarantees for displaced teachers.
But Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who oversees the city schools, wants principals to be able to choose who they hire.
Write to Stephanie Banchero at [email protected]
Chicago teachers and city officials emerged from marathon contract talks early Friday morning without a deal but held out hope that an agreement might be reached later in the day. Joe Barrett has the latest on Lunch Break.
The two sides spent 15 hours Thursday and into the wee hours of Friday morning trying to come to an agreement to end a teacher strike entering its fifth day that has shut 350,000 students out of classrooms. The strike is the first by city teachers in 25 years.
ReutersChicago Teachers Union members listen to an update about negotiations as they picket on the fourth day of their strike.
Chicago Public Schools Board President David Vitale emerged from contract talks at about 1 a.m. Friday saying there had been progress on the two main sticking points: teacher evaluations and job security for laid-off teachers.
He said the city had some "number crunching to do" but that he was hopeful a deal could be reached by 2 p.m. before the union's governing body, the House of Delegates, is scheduled to meet. That group would need to approve the deal and has the power to call off the strike.
"They agreed to make some changes, we agreed to make some changes," Mr. Vitale said, adding that he thought the sides were close enough to get kids back into school by Monday.
The union and city leaders entered negotiations Thursday hinting that a deal was within reach, but union chief Karen Lewis described the day's talks as "ebb and flow." She noted progress had been made but was less certain an agreement could be reached by Friday's union meeting.
"We had some good conversations, and I think that is a good sign," she said after the talks broke off early Friday.
Negotiations between union and city leaders are scheduled to begin later Friday. In the meantime, thousands of teachers were back on the picket line clad in union-issued red T-shirts and toting placards.
The two sides have reached agreement on some issues and seemed to be nearing a deal on overhauling teacher evaluations by linking them to student test scores.
They also are focused on what to do with teachers displaced by school closings. The city plans to close underenrolled and low-performing schools soon, and union leaders want job-security guarantees for displaced teachers.
But Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who oversees the city schools, wants principals to be able to choose who they hire.
Write to Stephanie Banchero at [email protected]