A mediator from the Washington State Public Employee Relations commission has been assigned to Kent to try to facilitate negotiations between the Kent School District and the Kent Education Association.

Guy Coss, who has worked previously on several K-12 contract disputes, including last year’s Bellevue School District strike, will begin by contacting both sides of the dispute.

The mediator comes following a joint request from both sides after the district last Friday declared an impasse in negotiations. The two sides have met at least 11 times during contract negotiations, but have so far been unable to reach an agreement.

“While the district has negotiated in good faith, we believe we are at an impasse,” reads a letter sent to parents and staff in the district dated Aug. 14 and signed by Kent Superintendent Edward Lee Vargas. “As a result the school year may be delayed.”

The letter was to be sent to district residents early this week. The Kent School District includes schools with Renton addresses – Kentridge High School, Northwood Middle School, Meeker Middle School, Fairwood Elementary School, Glenridge Elementary School and Carriage Crest Elementary School.

The first day of school in the Kent district is scheduled for Aug. 31, but with no contract in place and a KEA-member meeting containing a potential strike vote set for Aug. 26, both sides are preparing for a delay in the start of the school year.

Mediation began at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

According to Martha Nicoloff, a field services manager with PERC, the mediator’s role is to assist both parties in finding common ground, and ultimately a contract they can live with.

“The hoped-for result is they come to an agreement and can put a contract together,” Nicoloff said.

The mediator, however, does not have the authority to compel either side to reach an agreement or accept any item, but the hope is that a fresh set of eyes may be able to clarify each side’s position for the other and offer suggestions to move negotiations along.

“We are always the impartial third party,” Nicoloff said. “When we are mediators, we are not directing anybody to do anything.

“What they have is the power of their experience as a mediator,” she added.

Nicoloff said PERC employs 17 full-time mediator/adjudicators with jurisdiction over virtually all public employees in the state, including those in the school system.

Nicoloff said there is no usual timeframe for these discussions, but that a mediator will stay on hand until a settlement is reached.

“By and large, the mediator will be working through until resolution,” Nicoloff said.