BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Public Schools and the teachers union are scheduled to resume contract negotiations on Thursday.

The Buffalo Board of Education is also speaking publicly after half the teachers in the district voted no confidence in Superintendent Tonja Williams and the board.

The Buffalo Teachers Federation has rejected recent contract proposals that would have raised wages and offered a signing bonus, saying those proposals would increase health care costs and add work hours.

During a BOE meeting Wednesday night, board members addressed the no-confidence vote and provided an update on ongoing negotiations. They say it's uncommon to discuss the positions of either party publicly, but they wanted to address why the board stands where it does.

"We are looking forward to continuing to work with the BTF, continuing to work on behalf of our teachers to settle and negotiate; we'll negotiate and then settle, a fair contract," said Ann Rivera from the BPS Board of Education.

The board says it wants to provide a fair and competitive compensation package to current Buffalo teachers as soon as possible, but says it is also working to stabilize the district's budget by bringing the contract in line with the marketplace.