After more than a year of negotiations between the Hermitage Education Association and the school district, the time for working without a contract is running out, says the union's chief negotiator.

"It'd be unfortunate if they went on strike," said Hermitage Vice President Timothy J. Ruffo, chairman of the board's negotiating committee.

Ruffo said talks have been running pretty smoothly, but teacher Paul Estock said there have been "plenty of meetings and plenty of dialogue, but not a lot of progress."

"An area of time has been discussed. The staff feels we won't complete the (school) year without a contract," Estock said, adding that the union hasn't set a deadline or taken a strike vote.

The contract expired July 1. Talks began in January 2001.

"We are meeting Monday night and we're hoping to hammer out things," Estock said. "There are too many things still on the table. Of course it boils down to economics."

Though neither would discuss specifics, Ruffo said a sticking point on hospitalization coverage had been worked out recently.

Estock hopes that "the idea that the staff will not do this forever" will add urgency to the negotiations.

"We feel that some meaningful work at this table will result in a contract," Estock said. "Whether we have to meet on a daily or weekly basis, bottom line, we want a solution ... we want results."

"There's still some language to deal with but both sides are open," said board president Duane Piccirilli. "It seems like a long time but we are making progress. Hopefully we'll get closer to a contract Monday evening."

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Sherris Moreira-Byers at sbyers@sharon-herald.com