CONEJO VALLEY : Teachers Contract Talks to Resume

After a five-week hiatus, Conejo Valley school district and union officials plan to return to the bargaining table Tuesday to resume talks on a new teachers contract.

Both sides have come to tentative agreement on 14 issues having little impact on finances but remain divided on 20 items, including teacher salaries, lottery funds and benefits, Supt. Bill Seaver said.

Representatives of the Unified Assn. of Conejo Teachers were originally seeking a 10% raise for the 1990-91 school year, while Conejo Valley Unified School District officials have offered 4% this year and 3.2% for each of the following two years.

John Uelmen, president of the teachers union, said the negotiating team will offer the district a three-year contract that would bring teacher salaries up to those of neighboring districts.

“We’re getting down to our best, last and final offer. If this isn’t accepted, we would probably have to go to an impasse,” Uelman said.

School officials released an 11-point open letter Thursday stating that the district wants to settle the contract, which would replace one that expired June 30, but that substantial cuts would have to be made to fund proposed employee salary increases.