A state mediator has called negotiators for the Marysville School District and its striking teachers back to bargaining today, two days before the they were scheduled to resume talks.

At the same time, teachers and administrators in Lake Stevens were waiting for a call Monday from their mediator to try again to iron out a contract.

More than 11,000 Marysville students have been out of class for 10 school days. About 7,000 Lake Stevens students have missed six school days.

Mediator Vincent Helm called both sides Monday to get them back to the table today. Classes have been canceled for the remainder of the week.

Those familiar with the mediation process warned against reading too much into today’s meeting.

Marvin Schurke, executive director of the state Public Employment Relations Commission, which provides mediators, has been through his share of teacher strikes over three decades.

"There is a good deal of professional discretion that goes into determining whether it is helpful or not (to call a meeting)," Schurke said.

Sometimes, he said, it is better to let sides cool down for a while. Sometimes, "you feel they need a dose of mediation whether they want it or not," Schurke said.

The mediator in the Marysville talks has been in regular contact with negotiators from both sides since last week’s meeting, he said.

Both sides are apart on more than two dozen issues, with salary, benefits and workloads topping the list. The district has described the contract proposals as being millions of dollars apart.

"It doesn’t matter how often the bargaining teams meet if the (school) board refuses to offer a good proposal," said Elaine Hanson, president of the 650-member Marysville Education Association. "School will start when the board listens to parents and offers teachers a fair settlement."

Judy Parker, a school district spokeswoman, said the district does not know why the mediator called the two sides together two days earlier than scheduled.

"It’s good news we’re talking," she said.

Negotiators for teachers and the Lake Stevens School District were waiting for a call from their mediator Monday, after Sunday’s marathon talks failed to produce a tentative agreement.

Neither side would comment Monday on what exactly was separating them from a new contract. They met for nearly 10 hours Sunday. The main issues remain salary, benefits and workloads, both sides said.

"Once we get to mediation, anything that occurs in there is expected to stay there," said Bob Ingraham, president of the Lake Stevens Education Association. "About the only thing I can say is a tentative agreement wasn’t reached."

"Toward the end, we were at the point we believed we had a tentative agreement," said Arlene Hulten, the school district spokeswoman. "Everything was moving in a very solid direction. We made some movement and we thought we were there."

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.