3:01 PM: SPS superintendent Ben Shuldiner is just about to begin his briefing on the teacher contract situation. You can watch live here. We’ll be publishing toplines as it goes.

3:04 PM: The superintendent begins by saying talks overnight continued until 1:30 am and says they’re in talks right now and he is impressed by the progress and collaboration “in a very positive direction.” He says he feels optimistic and will provide updates every two hours. He says they’re still going through key issues but reiterates that he feels optimistic and “we’ll do everything we can to open up schools,” which he’s still hoping can happen tomorrow. His message to families: “We are making our decisions with you in mind” and is aware of family logistics so if they have to, they will provide “support” at campuses tomorrow, such as meals. “We are always hoping for the best …. but we have plans” if needed.

3:09 PM: First question, what time would he “call it” and say OK, we have to go to Plan B? The superintendent said he’s “thinking of it like Snow Days … we hope to have an answer way before midnight.” He hopes by by 10 pm.

3:11 PM: What progress is being made? Shuldiner won’t get into specifics but says the back and forth has “been moving at such a quick speed” which he interprets as wanting “to get this done …so we can open up schools.”

3:13 PM: He says they’ll release an FAQ shortly about backup plans and the “community partners” he mentioned yesterday are those that already have individual relationships with schools…. The union is reported to have made a special-education proposal, one report says, so how is that working? Shuldiner again says he’s not getting into specifics but “it does feel like we’re really making some progress.” He also was heartened by the SEA statement. early this morning also saying they were making progress. What other topics are the focus? He had said earlier that it was special education and salary, and reiterates the latter. … Asked again about what time they could wait till before having to make a call on school tomorrow, he said that could be as late as 5 am, “when the buses run.”

3:18 AM: “If a decision is made, you’ll hear it from the rooftops,” he says, promising they’d get info out every way possible. After this briefing, he says, they hope 5:30 pm would be their next update (then 7:30, 9:30, etc.). If school does not start, food would still be available at campuses 9 am-1 pm – breakfast and lunch in one “to-go bag.” (No paperwork required.) If you’re not sure about whether your school’s regular child-care would be opened, call the school now and ask he recommends. … Asked what else he has to say to parents, he thanks them for their patience and says they’re taking every moment they can to be sure it’s done right.

3:24 PM: How will the communications be delivered to “families with language barriers”? Shuldiner apologizes that they haven’t done the best on that but the communication staff is working on it … Chief of staff Bev Redmond says translation will be done in a variety of ways for the messages as they go out via district platforms, social media, robocalls, etc. … Asked about how the mediator has affected the negotiations, he says they’ve been “very helpful.” … Has the school board given direction on how these talks should proceed? He says the board has “empowered” him to “get a deal done … and keep the lights on.” … Have they provided any guidance “in the past few days?” He again declines to mention specifics.

3:32 PM: How is the district’s budget gap affecting the talks? “It’s the sword of Damocles that hangs over us all,” Shuldiner replied. Then he said he has to get back to the bargaining table, and ended the briefing.

BOTTOM LINE: They’re still talking and the district will provide updates every two hours. If no agreement, he’ll wait as long as possible before declaring “no school” – very late tonight or even early tomorrow.

P.S. We’ll publish all the updates too, and are also watching the union’s online channels for any word from them.

1:53 AM: With Seattle Public Schools still scheduled to start Wednesday unless there’s a strike, the Seattle Education Association sent this update minutes ago:

SEA members want to be back with our students on Wednesday. Our Bargaining Team worked past 1 am to get closer to the agreement our students need. We feel we made promising progress today and will return to the table this morning (Tuesday). SEA members will rally today, Tuesday, at 5 pm at the John Stanford Center to call for a student-focused contract NOW.

This statement comes 10 hours after Superintendent Ben Shuldiner‘s media briefing, which we covered here.

11:31 AM: The district has announced another 3 pm media briefing, and this time announced a streaming link in advance. We will also live-chronicle the briefing.

(Added: WSB photos)

3:04 PM: We’re at Seattle Public Schools HQ in SODO, where district superintendent Ben Shuldiner‘s media briefing is starting, two days before the scheduled start of school, which is in question because the district and its educators’ union haven’t yet reached a contract agreement. We’ll update with toplines as this continues.

Shuldiner says he’s glad that educators are in schools today, getting ready for the start of school, which he says “is the only thing I care about.” He says the talks are difficult because “We’re broke.” He says he’d love to “give money …to everyone,” if he had one. He says both sides are meeting right now, with the mediator present.

If a strike is called, though, “we are prepared,” and there will be meals available for kids, nonprofits that operate in schools will be able to operate, and they might have some “programming” for kids. But he say his “hope” is that school will still start on Wednesday.

On specific issues, he starts with special education, and says that it’s become a “place, not a service,” and he says that has to change. He said it’s “OK” that “folks didn’t like” the district’s first version of special education changes, and says they’ve made changes since then. They want to “try different ideas,” he said, and to “negotiat(e)” them.

He says things have “gotten better” since the mediation began. “We are working, we are working on negotiation, we are working on getting schools open on time. “Please know that negotiations are going on.”

First question: When did the talks resume, with the mediator? On Sunday, he said.

Second: Is the district opening childcare options if there’s a strike? “We are working on partners we already have to see what we can do about that.”

Third: Elaborate on the special-education proposal. He says it was intended as “rebalancing” so that students who need more support have more staff to provide it. He says they’re on “version 4” of the special education proposal.

Fourth: When was the first special education proposal made? A few weeks ago. Is changing special education a must? Yes, because it’s “so important for our children.” But it doesn’t necessarily have to happen immediately, he said. So now they’re trying to figure out if they can “create something now with a larger road map.” He said they “talked a lot about it” last night.

Fifth: What’s your confidence level that school will start Wednesday? He’s hopeful. He’s meeting with principals tonight. He suggests families take questions to their schools.

Sixth: We asked when tomorrow they’d make a call about whether there’ll be school on Wednesday. He said that’s up to the union – whether they decide to call a strike, and he suggested they wouldn’t announce there’s no school Wednesday unless the union says they’re striking. (So right now, there’s no particular deadline for making that call.)

Seventh question is about money, and he repeated “We’re broke” and that they don’t want to have to cut some other place to move money to an area.

Eighth question was about the stated hope of offering special education as a neighborhood-school model so that “students don’t have to move from school to school to school.”

Ninth question was different interpretations of the potential special education changes – staff cuts or not? He says it’s “complicated,” and there certainly is a way to view it that would make it look like cuts. “We’re not trying to balance the books on the backs of our children.” He says “version 4” … “changes the ratios, changes the model.”

Tenth question, what kind of pay increase? Shuldiner says the district has 8.8 percent over three years on the table, and isn’t going to say where the union is countering on that – “I think they’re working on that upstairs right now.” What’s the median teacher salary? He offers to get the reporter who asked the question info on that.

Eleventh question is about how inflation is affecting the wage offer – he elaborates that the offer is a “minimum” of 8.8 percent over three years. “This is not a pass-through,” he says, regarding state funding and the formulas. “We get about two-thirds of what the state gives us,” he explains, because Seattle is “super-expensive.”

Twelfth question was why SPS finally went public with its proposals – definitely because of the union’s public discussion, he said. Would he want negotiation to be that way? Maybe if it’s collaborative, going “super-public” could be a good thing.

Thirteenth question – is there an updated budget deficit number? Depends on what’s in the contract they work out. But next year, if changes aren’t made, “we’re insolvent.”

Fourteenth question – what does the mediator do? Goes from one side to next to “move the needle forward.”

Fifteenth question was a request to explain the salary “steps.”

Sixteenth question – how will athletics work if there’s a strike? Probably “won’t be able to do it” if union-member employees don’t show up, though he’s heard some may have ways around that.

3:04 PM NOTE: We recorded this all on video – it ran a bit longer than half an hour) and will add that when back at HQ. The district YouTube channel should have it too. Bottom line: Mediated talks are continuing right now.

5:21 PM: Our unedited video of the briefing and Q&A, with district Chief of Staff Bev Redmond introducing the superintendent:

No deal yet for Seattle Public Schools and its teachers (etc.) union Seattle Education Association. As we reported early today, talks broke down Saturday night. But tonight, in a lengthy message to families detailing the district’s side of the story, first-year superintendent Ben Shuldiner said a federal mediator’s been called in, at the district’s request. He says that’s because the union made an offer that the district felt met the definition of “regressive bargaining,” which is why the district left the table and called for a mediator.”We are very hopeful that with mediation now, we will be able to get to a deal before the start of school,” Shuldiner writes, though neither side has said when/if negotiations will resume. We mentioned in the update early today that the district plans daily media updates starting Monday, and the first one is set for 3 pm at district HQ in SODO.

We’ve been checking the calendars for local independent and parochial schools, as well as the adjacent districts that draw some students from West Seattle.

Starting tomorrow (Monday, August 31):

Holy Rosary Catholic School
Vashon Island School District

Starting Wednesday, September 2

Westside School (WSB sponsor)
Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor)
Tilden School (WSB sponsor)
Hope Lutheran School
Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School

Starting Thursday, September 3

Highline Public Schools

Starting Tuesday, September 8

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School

Starting Wednesday, September 9

West Seattle Montessori (White Center)

Already started

Summit Atlas Middle/High School
Kennedy Catholic High School (Burien)

As for the Seattle Public Schools situation, we’ll have an update a bit later tonight