Rebecca Stevens, Kenosha Unified School District board member, shakes her head and grimaces while talking about contract negotiations with the teachers’ union.

“I am absolutely frustrated,” she said. “I thought we were making real progress.”

Teachers have been working since June 30 without a new contract, and that got contentious at Tuesday’s School Board meeting with both sides accusing the other of not working toward an agreement.

Rebecca Stevens is one of two people on the district School Board, along with president Pam Stevens, who has been negotiating with the Kenosha Education Association. By state law, the other board members who are all former teachers, administrators or have family members who are, aren’t allowed to negotiate.

But after meeting several times since January and two hours Thursday night, it appears talks are at an impasse.

Although another meeting between both sides is scheduled for this coming Thursday, Rebecca Stevens said the district isn’t making further offers and it will most likely go to mediation.

Joe Kiriaki, the executive director of the teachers’ union, said he wants to keep negotiating.

Both sides had been relatively tight-lipped on negotiations, but it boiled over into an exchange of heated words at the School Board meeting.

A succession of 14 teachers, one student and union leaders chastised the board for not negotiating in good faith, treating teachers with disrespect and not offering any concrete proposals. Kiriaki reacted angrily when he was cut off at the podium after he reached his two minutes of allotted time.

When Rebecca Stevens shot back that the district had come up with several proposals and began to discuss health care, some teachers in the room loudly scoffed.

“I listened to you,” she said. “Can you be polite and listen to me?”

Kiriaki walked out of the room along with about 15 teachers.

He said it was misinterpreted, and this was no orchestrated plan to walk out.

“We had heard what Rebecca said and she wants teachers to switch to (United Healthcare) insurance. I walked out to talk in the hall, and some other teachers got up. It wasn’t planned, and it wasn’t a walkout. I came back in. We are just as frustrated. There’s too much finger-pointing going on. By God, the story is there’s no contract. We’re talking about people’s livelihood. They are passionate, they care, and the board only gives them a few seconds to speak? That’s what troubles me.”

Rebecca Stevens said she’s “shocked and surprised” at the turn of events regarding the contract.

She said she thought both sides made headway and had come to a rough agreement on the first year.

The district had budgeted for 2 percent in pay raises for the next two years, down initially from 3 percent. District officials wouldn’t confirm that offer but several sources said that’s what was on the table.

“There have been several offers that have been made, and pretty much, their answer has always been, ‘No.’ Almost everything we’ve offered so far has been geared toward their health care plan,” Rebecca Stevens said. “As a board member it’s my responsibility to ask if they will consider another plan that will save more money. But we have made offers to try to work with them with the WEA insurance with higher deductibles, because we know they want that insurance. I grew up in a union family and I am pro-union, but we are trying to be fair and fiscally responsible during tough economic times. At this point, if we can’t get an agreement, then mediation is the next step.”

Before mediation takes place, both sides would have to agree to that option. The district and union went to mediation for the last contract, and it was settled within hours. If it does go to mediation this time and is still not resolved, negotiations would go to an arbitrator and his findings would be final.

Kiriaki said he believes the numbers between both sides are close, and wants to continue negotiating, but said statements from the district aren’t accurate.

“Anytime they’ve given us a proposal, we’ve responded and discussed other alternatives, and they just don’t like them,” he said.

Kiriaki said he knows the 2 percent was budgeted for raises, but declined to discuss specifics of what was discussed behind closed doors.

“The committee would love to see that or any offer. The KEA has carefully considered options offered by the WEA Trust that bring health care costs down,” he said, but members don’t want mandatory health risk assessments, and don’t think they should be managed by the district.

He said if teachers take a different WEA plan with higher deductibles, as the district has offered, some of that money should be returned in the form of salary.

Kiriaki said the district saved money when the WEA Trust came in $1.4 million less in 2007-08 than originally budgeted, and $1.04 million less in 2009, but instead of putting that money toward salaries, it was allocated elsewhere in the budget, along with the 1 percent drop in budgeted salary.

“We keep looking at (the district’s) numbers and they don’t add up,” he said.

Bill Johnston, the executive director of finance for the district, said there isn’t any money left to offer.

“The part that has been frustrating to me is there has been a lot of, ‘No,’ and not a lot of, ‘Yes, but we need these modifications.’ The bottom line is there is a pot of money for all our employee groups. There’s no more, there’s no less,” Johnston said.

Kiriaki maintains that by using different WEA options, the union has saved tens of millions and teachers have overwhelmingly voted to keep it.

Johnston countered that United Healthcare insurance is currently about 8 percent cheaper, and if the teachers agreed to take it, the company agreed to cut costs further for a total of 12 percent.

According to Johnston, the district pays $22,553 per year for 1,304 teachers under the family plan for WEA Trust, and $9,932 for 649 teachers under the single plan. He said the same plans under United Healthcare currently cost $21,256 for family, and $9,447 for singles. He said if teachers accepted United Healthcare in 2006, the district would have saved $22 million by now. Kiriaki said that number isn’t accurate because the WEA Trust cuts costs in other areas.