Strike talks between Evergreen Park teachers and the district's school board broke down early Thursday, leaving students out of class for the seventh day.
When the union spokesman walked out of negotiations at 2:30 a.m., he said they would have kept meeting, but after 10 hours, talks were called off with no deal in place.
"The union's bargaining team is disappointed the board chose to end negotiations this evening, leaving us without an agreement and another day of the strike," said Dave Comerford with the Evergreen Park Federation of Teachers Local 943.
The school board president sounded optimistic about the progress made when it comes to retirement benefits, but teachers said that's a minor issue and they still have a long way to go.
"I'm sure both sides would like to see more movement, would like to see this end," Evergreen Park board president Kathy Rohan said, "but we had good conversation and we made progress."
Parents rallied outside of negotiation meetings Wednesday afternoon, vocalizing their support for teachers and want for the strike to end.
Both sides have met six times since the strike began last Tuesday. Five meetings were with a federal mediator. They will resume talks at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
About 1,800 students are affected by the strike.
