MAYVILLE - Judy Davenport didn't plan to comment when she arrived at a recent Chautauqua Lake Central School Board of Education meeting.
After hearing something a member of the board said, though, the president of the district's teachers' association said she had to speak up.
''The teaching team met last week and sent a package for the district to look at,'' Mrs. Davenport said. ''What I'm hearing tonight is that you're going to wait for the new report coming from the fact finder, which is very discouraging.''
Mrs. Davenport represents a group of teachers that has not had a contract since its last one expired more than two years ago. When a fact finder's report was rejected by the board and then retracted, negotiations once again hit a standstill.
Jay Baker, who earlier in the evening had been elected the board's 2009-10 president, responded to a concerned parent's question about the next step in negotiations by saying the board was waiting to analyze a revised fact finder's report to be made official before determining where to go next.
After Mrs. Davenport expressed her concern about the potential neglecting of the teachers' package, board member Timothy Hull clarified, saying the package would be part of discussion during the board's executive session.
Baker also reminded Mrs. Davenport that it was the teachers, not the board, who requested the fact finder's report in the first place.
Kate Elliott, a concerned parent, also addressed the board, saying she understands that it is looking out for taxpayers, but that it also must remember that the measure of a school is in its programming.
''If you have a beautiful facility, but you don't have good programs, then you don't have a good school,'' she said. ''While you're thinking about how much money we need for the building, I hope that a huge part of the budget is programs - and that means salaries.''
Parents also once again expressed their concern about morale within the school, as well as worries that teachers have discussed their lack of a contract with students - something that Mrs. Davenport said she does not condone.
''I'm sorry if some of my colleagues have discussed issues with children,'' she said. ''I cannot speak for everyone, but I know that I have never discussed issues with my kids.''
Rick Syper, a local businessman, also spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. While Syper said he hopes for resolution to the stalemate soon, he believes teachers should not be asking for large raises in an economy that doesn't warrant them.
''The day I read the newspaper on the fact-finding, I sat down and did the math,'' he said. ''As a businessman, I can't raise my rates that much. I can't put four 8 percent raises into my budget.''
Board members, meanwhile, responded to comments about their level of commitment to a solution by saying they are hoping to come to terms quickly just like everyone else is.
''Believe me, nobody in this room wants to see this continue,'' Hull said.