Nearing the mid-point of summer break, negotiated teacher agreements in the Lakeland and Post Falls school districts have remained elusive for the upcoming school year.

Some districts have traditionally reached contract agreements before the end of the school year, but fewer districts accomplished that this year due to the complexity involved with the statewide career ladder changes the Legislature made this spring, school officials said.

Post Falls district and teachers union reps met twice this week and will meet for the seventh time on July 21 at 10 a.m. at Post Falls High School.

In Lakeland, the district and union representatives have not met for a month after meeting six times in May and June. The school board will consider approving the district's last best offer today at 6 p.m. at the district office.

The latest proposal from the Post Falls Education Association is for a 4 percent base salary increase and funding increments for experience and education. The cost of the proposal is $1.004 million.

The district's latest proposal is for a 2.25 percent base salary increase and funding the increments. The cost of the district's proposal is $704,750.

Both sides said progress has been made.

"We've moved closer together related to our respective financial and language proposals," Post Falls Superintendent Jerry Keane said. "The discussions were productive and both sides have a better understanding of each other's positions."

Jake Smulkowski of the PFEA said that, although an agreement hasn't been struck, talks remain cordial and professional.

"I have always felt respected, listened to and valued as a Post Falls employee, in the classroom and at the bargaining table," Smulkowski said. "We have reached tentative agreements on several pieces of language, mostly involving clarification of existing policies.

"It is hard to predict if we will be able to reach an agreement at our next meeting, but I remain confident that we will continue to develop an understanding of each other's positions, and will move forward toward a resolution. This year was a bit different from previous years, as the mechanism for salary-based apportionment from the state changed significantly. This, coupled with typical end-of-the-year tight schedules, led to a bit of delay for the negotiations to start."

Both proposals include unfreezing staff who were hired between 2010 and 2013 and keeping insurance costs the same.

Lakeland teachers may have to settle for the district's last best salary offer and work without a negotiated agreement for another school year. Mediation, which didn't result in an agreement last year when called upon, is not scheduled.

The district's last best offer calls for restoring an experience step in the salary grid that had been frozen during the 2010-11 school year, but an additional frozen step during the 2011-12 year will not be restored nor will the Lakeland Education Association's proposed 1.25 percent base salary increase be granted.

Lakeland Superintendent Brad Murray said after unfreezing a step and providing for this year's experience step, the district does not have the funding to provide LEA's requested 1.25 percent base salary increase.

Shannon Hall, representing the LEA, earlier said that even though an agreement wasn't reached last year or so far this year, teachers will continue to work to provide a quality education. However, teacher morale is at a low point due to the continued lack of an agreement, she said.

During the recession, the state froze teacher salaries for two years, which meant no movement on the salary grid for experience coupled with no base salary hike.

Murray said it's more expensive to operate "neighborhood" schools such as in Athol, Garwood, Spirit Lake and Twin Lakes - areas outside Rathdrum - and therefore it's taken the district longer than some to unfreeze all of the steps.

Murray said the district's goal throughout the school year was to unfreeze the two remaining steps, but state funding limited that plan.

Any teacher who will not see a raise based on restoring the experience step will receive an annual $800 raise. The district will cover the 3.1 percent increase to the basic insurance plan. It pays insurance for the employee only.

Classified employees are not part of districts' negotiated agreements.