San Diego

An informal get-together Monday of San Diego city schools trustees and the leadership of the San Diego Teachers Assn. was intended to improve communications between the board and teachers during a period of wide-ranging curriculum and management changes in the district, which has resulted in substantial anxiety.

Assn. President Hugh Boyle said that regular dialogue between the two groups is also necessary because of the 1988 four-year labor contract in which the board and the union agreed to cooperate on a variety of educational issues.

“It’s a new relationship and many are suspicious,” Boyle said, especially since teachers now deal with issues beyond setting salaries. Board President Kay Davis agreed.

A major issue facing the district is how to improve accountability of teachers and principals for student achievement.

Trustees in recent statements have talked about the need to hold employees more responsible for results, and several hundred teachers are expected at today’s meeting to hear five of their representatives “educate” trustees concerning their efforts to be accountable.

The planned demonstration is indicative of problems that need to be discussed more often between teachers and trustees, those at Monday’s meeting agreed.