MOORPARK : District, Teachers to Meet With Mediator

A state labor mediator will meet Friday with representatives of the Moorpark Unified School District and its teachers union to try to break a monthlong impasse in contract negotiations, school officials said Wednesday.

The last contract for more than 200 certified employees in the district expired June 30, district spokeswoman Yvonne Davis said.

Since then, representatives of the Moorpark Education Assn. have held two negotiating sessions with the district, Davis said. Both parties asked a state mediator to intervene because they could not resolve several key issues, she said.

The union has asked for a 7% raise. The district has offered to increase salaries by the cost-of-living adjustment set by the state. The state has not yet set the adjustment, she said, but it will be substantially less than 7%.

In addition, the union and the school district dispute the amount of planning time allowed for elementary school teachers.

Last year, teachers had 2 1/4 hours for curriculum planning every Friday afternoon, Davis said. School officials want to use at least some of the time for meetings.