30000 Los Angeles teachers enter bargaining talks with district administration

Some 30,000 striking Los Angeles teachers braced for a fourth day of picketing in the rain on Thursday as their union and America's second-largest school district headed for their first bargaining session since talks collapsed last week. In the first teachers strike to hit the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in 30 years, union members are calling for higher pay, smaller classes and the hiring of more support staff. But LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner has said the demands, if fully met, would place too great a strain on the district's budget. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who attended a teachers' rally earlier this week and has voiced strong support for their cause, said in a statement that the two sides had agreed to reopen negotiations on Thursday, with his office serving as mediator.

Union leaders said Garcetti had met with both parties earlier in the day and that California's top education official, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, was also in contact with each side and had offered his support in efforts to reach a settlement. Thurmond could play a key role in helping the district secure extra funding it may need to close a deal with the teachers. Negotiators for the district and the union - United Teachers Los Angeles - have not met face to face since union leaders rejected the LAUSD's latest contract offer last Friday night. The union disputes Beutner's assertions that the district lacks sufficient resources to accept teachers' demands. Union President Alex Caputo-Pearl said the union was "engaged" with Thurmond, and with California Governor Gavin Newsom, to "try to push on the state as well for additional funding." "The money's there. There's no doubt about it. California is the richest state in the country," he told reporters on Wednesday. "The money is there for kids." The teachers, who have been without a contract for nearly a year, walked off the job on Monday. LAUSD officials have kept all 1,200 of its schools open on a limited basis with skeleton staff of administrators and substitute teachers, but attendance has been running at roughly a third of normal. Thousands of striking teachers fanned out across the sprawling school district for a series of boisterous rallies and picketing on Wednesday, braving a third day of showers which appeared to do little to dampen their spirits. A fourth day of rain was forecast for Thursday.

The Los Angeles walkout follows a wave of teachers strikes last year across the United States over pay and school funding, including work stoppages in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Arizona. Denver teachers could vote to strike by Saturday if no deal on a new contract is reached by then. Beutner, a former publisher and investment banker, said the district had proposed staff increases that would cost $130 million a year - more than county officials have said is available - while the union's demands would cost $800 million. The union is seeking a 6.5 percent pay raise. LAUSD teacher pay currently averages $75,000, according to state figures. The district has offered a 6 percent hike with back pay.

(With inputs from agencies.)