Boston Teacher Contract Negotiations At Impasse

After nearly two years of stalled contract negotiations, Boston teachers and school officials will ask a state mediator to step in and help break the impasse.

The school district and teachers union have agreed on a new system for assigning teachers to schools, but those policies cannot go into effect until the two sides iron out other differences over salary increases, teacher evaluations and compensation for a longer school day.

On Tuesday, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino criticized the Boston Teachers Union for failing to accept a new contract.

"Unfortunately, we must start planning for next year with the old process in place," Menino said. "A process that puts teachers with mismatched skills in mismatched classrooms. That's wrong."

BTU President Richard Stutman says the talks would be more productive if Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson were present.

Johnson joined WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss the contract dispute. She says she meets with Stutman once a month and that it is "disingenuous" for him to imply that negotiations would have gone differently otherwise.