A team of negotiators representing Wichita Public Schools will continue contract talks on Thursday with the local teachers union.
United Teachers of Wichita says the school board directed its negotiators to return to the table. That comes after district representatives notified the union last month that they were declaring an impasse.
“The BOE team's chief negotiator informed us last night that the BOE has directed its team to return to negotiations rather than proceed to (an) impasse,” reads a post on the union’s Facebook page.
An impasse would have meant a federal mediator stepping in to broker the talks. The meetings would have also been closed to the public.
But with the district’s negotiating team reversing course, the meetings will remain open.
Key sticking points thus far in negotiations include teacher planning time, student behavior and pay.
A spokesperson for the Wichita school district did not respond to a request for comment.
Thursday’s negotiations begin at 9 a.m. at the Alvin Morris Administrative Center.
Wichita Public Schools is the largest school district in Kansas, with about 4,000 teachers and 45,000 students.
