POLAND – School officials and support staff are going to mediation today.

The Education Association of Poland and school officials have negotiated since spring for a new contract to cover more than a dozen Poland Community School and Bruce M. Whittier Middle School teaching assistants, secretaries, cafeteria workers, nurses and nursing assistants. The three-year contract expired June 30 when the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement.

Seven months later, they will meet with a mediator for help.

“We have a number of items that are going to be talked about,” said Lee Libby, chief negotiator for the Education Association.

Among the issues of contention are salaries, health insurance and “just cause” for workers losing their jobs, Libby said.

The two sides will enter mediation today with someone appointed by the Maine Labor Relations Board. Depending on how easily the issues are resolved, mediation could take a single day or it could take weeks.

As they start mediation for support staff, the Education Association and school officials will continue contract negotiations for more than 30 elementary and middle school teachers. Those negotiations also started in spring, but the two sides could not reach an agreement by the time that contract expired Aug. 31.