The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and the Kenai Peninsula Education Association have reached an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations. 

The decision was reached Wednesday during a scheduled meeting.

The Seattle office of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) was contacted to appoint a mediator to the negotiations, said school district spokesperson Pegge Erkeneff. 

The school district team’s spokesperson, Saul Friedman, said during the meeting that the district team believed the negotiations could no longer move forward, said association spokesperson Matt Fischer.

The association team later confirmed that a mediator would be necessary, Erkeneff said. A date has not been set.

During the mediation sessions, the two teams will meet in separate rooms and the hired mediator will relay information to further develop the contracts, and reach an agreement, Fischer said. 

The contract with the association ends on June 30, 2015, Erkeneff said. If a negotiated agreement has not been reached by July 1, 2015 the current contract will still apply, she said.