After months of negotiations, the teachers of the Austin Public Schools, represented by the Austin Education Association and the Austin School Board have reached a tentative contract agreement.

Thursday, March 21, 2002

After months of negotiations, the teachers of the Austin Public Schools, represented by the Austin Education Association and the Austin School Board have reached a tentative contract agreement.

According to Superintendent Corrine Johnson, a tentative agreement was reached yesterday during a mediation session at Riverland Community College.

Details of the agreement won’t be released until the contract has been officially voted on and written in contract language.

The contract, Johnson says, is for "two years, however, the first year is almost over, so it’s mostly for next year."

She isn’t sure when a final agreement will be reached, but says she hopes "the latest would be April, but it’s hard to say for sure. It depends on how quickly we can get the language together."

The two groups have been in contract negotiations since July and Johnson says she is "very happy about (the agreement) after all these months of negotiations."

"I think both sides really wanted to reach an agreement this time. We may have been saying that for the last six months, but I think this time we were more serious about making a decision," she says. "I think this time, (both sides) were more willing to say what they wanted and make concessions."

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com