Representatives of both the teachers’ union, Princeton Regional Education Association (PREA), and the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education (BOE) failed once again to agree on a contract when they met face to face Thursday, March 26.

In recent months the two sides have worked with state-appointed mediator Kathy Vogt, Esq., so it seemed to be a step toward conciliation when they agreed to sit down together.

“The parties had a constructive negotiation session and made material progress on the key issues of salary and benefits,” said BOE negotiator Patrick Sullivan Friday. “I think it is fair to say that both sides are happy with the progress we made last night.”

According to Mr. Sullivan, the two sides agreed to meet again with the help of mediator Vogt on April 9, which will be the fifth time they will have met with her. They have also scheduled an additional session on April 15 but it has yet to be determined whether this meeting will be with or without mediation.

PREA Chief Negotiator John Baxter and PREA President Joanne Ryan could not be reached for comment. Since July 1, teachers in Princeton’s public schools have been working under the terms of their previous 2011-2014 contract.

Ms. Vogt helped bring both sides together during negotiations for that contract and she agreed to a fifth session with both sides in an attempt to bring the two sides into agreement once again.

So far, the stumbling blocks to progress are health care and salary increases. PREA members have ceased to donate their time to non-paid extra-curricular activities and volunteer work.

Ms. Vogt’s services are provided at no cost to the district or to the teachers’s union; they are paid for by the state. But if no agreement is reached in mediation, a fact-finder would be called in to move the parties toward an agreement at a cost of $1,500 per day. The cost of a fact-finder would be split between the two parties.

The failure of the teachers’s union and the BOE to resolve their differences has provoked anger and sadness on the part of numerous parents, teachers, and district students in recent months who have appeared before members of the BOE to express their concerns and to beg both sides to compromise.