An outside mediator is being called in to facilitate contract negotiations between the Mountain View Whisman School District and its teachers union after talks hit a wall last month.

The union declared an impasse after a Jan. 18 negotiating session, saying that the district has been unwilling to budge on reducing class sizes or setting defined work hours. The district made proposals that instead focused on increasing teacher pay, which the union rejected.

"They didn't make really any movement towards improving either (class size or hours)," union president Sean Dechter said in an interview. "They only were interested in looking at compensation."

The union argues teachers are facing unsustainable workloads that the district hasn't been willing to address.

The school district, for its part, says that class sizes are on par with other nearby districts and that the proposal teachers suggested for their work hours would create a shorter day than other districts in the county, both claims that the union disputes.

Instead, the district offered teachers a 12% raise over three years, with the stipulation that the contract would be locked until 2024. Teachers would get a 5% raise this year, plus a one-time bonus of 3%, a 4% raise next year and a 3% bump in the 2023-2024 school year.

"We share the same interests that they do, in terms of making sure that our teachers are fairly compensated and that we do everything within our power to retain staff, which is why we have a very generous three-year offer on the table," Superintendent Ayinde Rudolph said in an interview.

Signing a three-year contract is normal practice in Mountain View Whisman, but typically portions of the contract, including pay, remain open for annual negotiation. Under this proposal, the only changes that would be made are those that are legally required, such as implementing new rules for time off, Rudolph said.

He argued that the deal would give teachers substantial pay increases, while providing stability and certainty for both teachers and the school district. He also said that yearly negotiations are time consuming.

"It only makes sense to stop focusing on spending a whole year negotiating," Rudolph said. "Let's focus our attention on what's important, which are the needs of our students."

Teachers objected to the idea of locking themselves into a multi-year deal with no chance to make changes, especially one that doesn't address their concerns about working conditions. Dechter said he has never seen this kind of locked contract before in the district. Current economic uncertainties make a fixed contract even more problematic, the union argues.

They also point out that the current negotiations aren't meant to encompass the full contract, which doesn't expire until June 30, 2022, but instead focus on this school year. Teachers say that proposals for future school years should be negotiated after this year's agreement is nailed down.

With the union opposed to a multi-year deal, the district offered a one-year proposal where teachers would retroactively get a 4% raise for this school year, plus increases to certain stipends and hourly pay rates. Work hours and class sizes would remain unchanged.

The union countered by asking for a 5% raise this year, plus a 3% one-time bonus, as well as changes to working conditions.

Teachers want their regular workday set at six hours and 55 minutes, with extra pay for additional hours, as well as fewer meetings held outside of school hours and smaller class sizes.

"We're being told to implement new teaching strategies and new practices in the classroom, but we aren't given enough time to adequately implement them," union Vice President Michael Newman said.

The district has said the union's requests aren't financially feasible and suggested that teachers reallocate part of the proposed salary increases toward smaller class sizes and extra pay for additional hours worked. Dechter responded that teachers shouldn't have to sacrifice pay to reduce class sizes, which he said benefits students as well as staff.

The impasse comes as the district reaches tentative contract agreements with its non-teaching staff. At a Thursday, Feb. 10, meeting, the school board is set to vote on approving a contract with the union representing classified employees, which includes classroom assistants and other support staff. Under that deal, classified employees would get a 5% raise this school year, plus a 2% bonus, and then 4% raises in each of the next two school years.

The board is also expected to vote on a similar agreement with management and non-unionized staff, as well as pay bumps for high level district administrators.

The first negotiation between the district and teachers' union, with the mediator present, is set for March 1.