Frustrated parents of SF schoolkids are speaking out in the media, and union reps are keeping up a brave face as a potential third day of the San Francisco teachers' strike looms.

School district officials and union negotiators may be getting closer to a deal, but nothing has yet been announced after a bargaining session went until around 11 pm Monday night. San Francisco teachers were set to rally in Dolores Park at noon and then march to Civic Center at 1:30 pm (possibly in the rain), as negotiations continue.

The two sides are still two percentage points apart on the issue of a pay raise for teachers spread over two years, as the Chronicle reports. The union has come down from 9% to 8% over two years, while the district's last proposal was for 6% over two years. Coming out of Monday, teachers' aides will get a 10% raise over two years, with the district reportedly agreeing to this, and aides will get an extra hour added to their workdays.

The union continues to press for fully funded family healthcare plans for teachers, which they say is necessary to keep good teachers from fleeing to better-paying districts nearby.

The district's last proposal reportedly offered a $24,000 flexible spending account to cover health costs for teachers and one dependent each.

Another issue has been paid sabbatical leaves for teachers which are offered after seven years, which are not common in other districts, as well as paid AP prep periods. The district says it pays $13.4 million per year to cover the cost of 50 full-year leaves and 12 half-year leaves, in addition to the cost of special prep periods for teachers of AP classes.

The district, which has been facing signficant budget deficits for several years amid declining enrollment, insists that it can not afford all of these demands, especially as there was talk of school closures just over a year ago, which have since been tabled.

Meanwhile, as the Chronicle notes, state advisors still have the power to veto any tentative agreement between the two sides, particularly if it is fiscally untenable.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who is running for governor, issued a statement on social media saying he was willing to step in to mediate.

"I have been in communication with the two sides and have offered to join the conversation in hopes of helping to facilitate an agreement and end to the strike,” Thurmond wrote. "... It’s more urgent than ever that they double down on their effort in order to reach an agreement so that students and educators can return to the classroom as quickly as possible."

San Francisco schools were closed Tuesday, and the district may announce a third day of closures Wednesday by the middle of this afternoon, as they did on Monday, so that parents can prepare.

Frustrated parents have been speaking out to the local news media as the strike drags on.

Rachel Gunabe, a special needs teacher in the district and the parent of an eight-year-old girl with autism, tells KPIX, "These people who work, they can clock in and out, but I still have my child 24 hours a day."

Gunabe adds that parents of special-needs kids have extra difficulties in times of disruption like this.

"They can't go out into public and raise their voice because they're so afraid that their child might run away into the street," Gunabe tells KPIX, adding that for autistic kids like her daughter, "The routine is so disrupted and they come back and they're so dysregulated."

Previously: San Francisco Schools Will Remain Closed Tuesday as Strike Negotiations Continue

Photo via Nadia Rahman