Negotiators for the Lawrence school district and the Lawrence Education Association are taking a break from meetings Monday evening for each side to discuss proposals for a new contract for the 2008-09 school year.

In a meeting that precedes a sit-down with a federal negotiator scheduled for Wednesday, the district offered about $200,000 more in salary, bringing the total to $1,000,363. That’s still about $800,000 less than LEA asked for before negotiations stalled in June.

The district also offered $700 a year in stipend for teachers who earn at least 15 hours in required additional academic credits.

On the issue of planning time, of particular importance to teachers, the district in June proposed adding two days of planning time a year for each elementary teacher. Content specialist teachers would be brought in to teach classes as regular teachers took time for planning.

That idea was not accepted in June, and will be further discussed when negotiators return in a few minutes.

Check LJWorld.com for further developments.