BOXFORD — Yearlong private negotiations between Masconomet's teachers union and School Committee have gone more public since the teachers, in a letter to parents, said they felt undervalued.

Teachers continue at work under the terms of a contract that expired Aug. 31, but negotiations began in October 2007.

Daniel Volchok, a committee member from Boxford named in the letter, disputes the teachers' argument that they were not valued by the school system.

"I think we value the teachers very much and show that in a number of ways," he said, including praise at committee meetings and positive comments in a school district newsletter. "... We certainly value and respect the teachers."

In a letter to Masconomet parents, the Masconomet Teachers Association wrote that the 1980s and 1990s showed mutual respect but "teachers no longer feel valued by the School Committee."

Teachers said they were "negotiating for a contract that will result in a net cost-of-living adjustment similar to those recently received by teachers in other nearby towns," but did not specify the amount they sought.

Masconomet Teachers Association president Sandra Dearborn and spokesman James Dillon, who work as middle school math and science teachers, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Volchok said the last negotiations took a similar amount of time.

Volchok and Superintendent Claire Sheff Kohn said they could not discuss specifics of the contract, including what areas remained in contention. Volchok did say he was worried about the middle school and high school budgets but refused to say whether teacher pay was a sticking point.

"We are balancing the needs and interests of the students, the faculty — the teachers — and the three towns, and budget is certainly a part of that equation," he said.

A School Committee policy says the best negotiations are when "there is a climate of mutual trust and understanding between the negotiating parties."

The Masconomet schools, which start at seventh grade, serve students from Boxford, Middleton and Topsfield.

Those communities each struggled to close their budgets last year, and Masconomet predicted overall class sizes would grow.

The schools began phasing out German classes and eliminated general music classes.

The last contract was ratified in March 2006, nearly a year and a half after negotiations began and more than six months after the prior contract ended.

The latest contract gave teachers raises of 2 percent, followed by two years with 3 percent raises each year. Teachers also started paying for 15 percent of their health care, up from 5 percent.