As the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District and the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA) prepare to resume contract negotiations with a state-appointed mediator, the teachers union is signaling that a tentative agreement may be possible.

In a post to teachers on social media following Thanksgiving break, HSEA encouraged members to be ready for a potential vote soon. “Prepare to participate in building-level ratification on December 18th. Details are on the way,” the message read.

The notice raises the question of whether union leaders expect a tentative contract to be ready by the state’s mid-December mediation deadline. HSEA President Tyler Zerbe indicated that is the goal.

“It is HSEA’s utmost intention to have a contract that our teachers will ratify after mediation,” Zerbe said in an email to LarryInFishers.

Formal mediation sessions between the district and union are expected to begin in the coming days. If the parties do not reach a ratified agreement by the state-mandated deadline, the process moves to fact-finding — a step that is uncommon but occasionally used when talks reach an impasse.

HSEA has said it wants a pact that will not result in teachers having less take home pay.  HSE has argued it does not have the funding to provide what the union wants.

For now, HSEA appears confident that negotiations will produce a tentative agreement in time for teachers to vote on December 18.