No new negotiation dates are scheduled as paraprofessionals in the Bethel Park School District continue to work without a contract.

"In the real world, everyone would sit down and say 'This is what we want' and the whole thing would be over in a month," said Jan Sterrett, president and chief negotiator for the unit, which has membership in the Bethel Park Federation of Teachers.

The paraprofessionals and some parents and teachers held a rally at last month's school board meeting and plan a smaller version for next Tuesday's board meeting.

"We want to have a presence again, but not the full force," Ms. Sterrett said.

"We have raised awareness a little bit, and more parents are jumping on the cause."

The old contract between the 109-member unit and the school district expired June 30, 2006.

First Published: November 15, 2007, 11:45 a.m.