Officials of the Pittsburgh Public Schools will find out tonight whether teachers and other professional employees voted -- on the second go-around -- to approve a two-year contract considered critical to Superintendent Mark Roosevelt's academic agenda.

The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers scheduled a second vote after members rejected the proposal 869-763 on March 29. The first vote followed a sometimes contentious membership meeting at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland. The second balloting has been conducted by mail.

Ballots, mailed to union members last week, must be returned to Iron and Glass Bank by 4 p.m. today. Then a bank courier and a representative of Electec Inc., an election company hired by the union, will transport the ballots to union offices on the South Side.

There, the ballots will be counted under Electec's supervision, union President John Tarka said. He said the process will take a couple of hours.

For the second time, Mr. Tarka and other union leaders have urged ratification of the proposal, which would give $3,000 raises to members at the top of the salary scale and provide previously established step increases to other members as they move along the scale. Also for the second time, opponents of the proposal have circulated e-mails urging rejection, saying the district can afford a better offer.

Top-scale pay for a teacher with a master's degree is $70,500, but teachers can make extra money for additional duties, special certification and longevity. The "jump step," or biggest step, on the scale is worth about $20,000.

Opponents posted an alternative proposal on the Web site at contractfacts.home.comcast.net that calls for a three-year contract with raises of $1,400, $2,200 and $2,700 for members at the top of the scale. They also want to add $200 a year to the value of each salary scale step, an arrangement that would provide a step increase and raise each year to less senior members of the 3,125-person bargaining unit.

Counselors, nurses, psychologists, teachers and social workers have been working without a contract since June 30. The dispute pits the interests of union members against those of a troubled district.

Mr. Roosevelt, trying to raise student achievement despite a $45 million operating deficit projected for 2007, has said educational improvement is on the line.

Without a contract, he would have to postpone plans for a longer school day and extended year at eight new schools called accelerated learning academies or find outside parties to provide the extra learning time. The union has objected to the latter possibility.

Some union members have said they wanted raises commensurate with what their counterparts in outlying counties received this year. They've said the district has a tradition of claiming financial problems before a contract vote, yet has found millions of dollars for new programs and administrators.

While the 52 percent turnout at Soldiers and Sailors last month was not unusual, Mr. Tarka said a mail-in vote would be a way to reach the entire membership. He said the union has worked to clear up misconceptions about the contract and to explain the proposal's highlights, including holding the line on the percentage members contribute toward health care premiums.