Bellflower : Stalemate Broken in Long Teacher Contract Dispute

A 10-month stalemate in contract negotiations between the Bellflower Unified School District and its teachers union appears to have been broken after dozens of teachers attended a school board meeting last week to urge board members to end the dispute.

Board members made no comment after several teachers spoke, but a union representative said that since last Thursday at least one major stumbling block between the district and the union had been resolved. The board has withdrawn its demand that teachers remain at school sites eight hours a day, said John Burritt, executive director of the Bellflower Education Assn.

Burritt said both sides also have softened their positions on another major issue--how much of the district’s share of state lottery money to set aside for teacher salaries.

Teachers in the district have been working without a contract since June.