School Year Just Begun, Teachers Strike Looms in Chicago CHICAGO - With the possibility looming for a strike beginning on Monday across Chicago's public schools, contract talks for city teachers were expected to stretch into the weekend, as hundreds of thousands of families began grappling with the prospect that school, only a few days old for many students, may come to an abrupt halt. A strike in this, the nation's third-largest public school system, last occurred a quarter-century ago, and seemingly all involved - union members, city leaders and, perhaps most of all, Chicago parents - said they hoped such an outcome could still be avoided. At points on Friday, those on both sides of the contract negotiations expressed tempered optimism about progress in the closed-door discussions. Still, the two sides were wrestling with an array of matters regarding wages, teacher evaluations and future jobs for laid-off teachers. "I want the kids of the city of Chicago to stay in the classroom," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in an interview on Friday evening. And the adults should stay in the negotiating room. And that's where everybody belongs. A strike would leave some 350,000 students without classes, sports or college test preparation, and many parents without child care. Chicago Public Schools officials have announced a contingency plan, which would include half-days of supervised activities and meals at 144 schools around the city, but some parents said they were uncertain about their options and anxious about what Monday may bring. "It's going to be a challenge," Tutu Olaitan said as she dropped off her young children off at school here on Friday morning. The fight here, many months in the making, has grown out of a combination of circumstances: a school system facing a sizable budget gap; teachers who complain that a previously agreed to 4 percent raise never came; and efforts, led by Mr. Emanuel, to make other significant changes to the system, including lengthening the school day. Much is at stake for Mr. Emanuel, who has cited improving the city's schools as one of his top priorities since his election last year, but has found himself pitted against union leaders in this fight. On Labor Day, Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, described Mr. Emanuel as a "liar" and a "bully" before a sea of union supporters at a rally downtown, and declared, "This fight is for the very soul of public education, not only in Chicago, but everywhere." While battles over the benefits and bargaining rights of public workers have grown common in recent years in Republican-controlled states like Wisconsin, the fight over this union contract - and over what Mr. Emanuel has described as the most comprehensive reform in the Chicago public school system in a decade - is notable for taking place in a city long run by Democrats. In an interview, Ms. Lewis said that on matters like pay and benefits and job security, the union and school officials remained split. Precise details of the negotiations have been kept private, though the size of wage increases is among the issues. School officials say teachers here make $76,000 a year on average. "I do not have a crystal ball," she said, of the likelihood of a strike on Monday. We've been very clear to the other side that there's a pathway to settlement. But we are still very far apart. David J. Vitale, the president of the Chicago Board of Education, sounded more optimistic. But he also said Chicago could not wait much longer, adding, "We've got a responsibility to not create this kind of anxiety and lack of clarity for our parents and uncertainty for our kids."