DURHAM – Thirty-one members of the Durham Teachers Association are entering their second month of the school year at Durham Elementary School without a contract.

Contract negotiations began in March without any success, association chief negotiator Mary-Jane Vermette said. A state mediator has been appointed through the Maine Labor Relations Board. Parties have met three times and failed to reach an agreement, she added.

Key issues include teacher working conditions, salaries, benefits and health insurance coverage.

“Although this is a difficult time for the staff, we are still committed to our children and what’s best for them. Their education continues to be our primary focus,” she said.

When contacted for comment, Superintendent Shannon Welsh said she “was surprised as the mediator had asked us to keep negotiations confidential.” She confirmed that Vermette’s statement on the issues was correct, but she felt she would not be keeping with the negotiator’s confidentiality request if she made any further comment.

The next meeting for negotiations will take place Oct. 24, Welsh said, adding that the school committee hopes to reach an agreement that “will be good for the community, the school children and staff.”

She declined to discuss any of the sticking points saying she wanted “to honor the mediator’s request and not negotiate in the press. I am disappointed that the information has been released.”

Vermette said the statement regarding negotiations was “just to let the public know that the teachers have been working without a contract since Aug. 31.”

She declined to give further details. She did say it has been “quite a while” since an association labor agreement stalled and teachers worked without a contract.