As deadline passes, Jordan says progress made, but still no settlement | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

As deadline passes, Jordan says progress made, but still no settlement | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

As deadline passes, Jordan says progress made, but still no settlement

by Dale Mezzacappa on Sep 01 2013 Posted in Latest news

Negotiators for the School District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers reached the midnight deadline without reaching agreement on a new contract.

PFT president Jerry Jordan said in an interview that the two sides "made some progress," although there were still many unresolved issues.

Asked if the two sides were still far apart, he said, "There are a number of outstanding issues, we were not close enough to close the deal."

Jordan said that the negotiations would continue Sunday and throughout the holiday weekend. He is still planning to hold a general membership meeting on Monday night.

There seemed to be some disagreement between the statement Jordan put out just after midnight and what the District said. Jordan said that the current contract remains in effect, while the District said that it has expired.

Following is Jordan's official statement:

"At this time, the PFT has not reached a tentative agreement for a new contract with the School District of Philadelphia. Teachers and staff will continue to work under the terms of the current contract.

"We are making some progress in negotiations, but there are still difficult issues that we are working hard to resolve. We will continue to work with the district to negotiate the terms of a new contract."

The District also issued a statement:

“The School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers are continuing negotiations so as to reach a multi-year agreement to replace their currently expired