Hillsborough County school district officials, now in contract negotiations with  their employees, started Tuesday's bargaining session with a pledge to protect jobs.

"The superintendent and the board do not want to see layoffs and they don't want to follow what other districts are doing and look at furlough days," said Charles Raburn, manager of employee relations. "If the question is, are the board and superintendent trying to do everything for all of their employees, the answer is going to be yes."

A the same time, he said, "What it all comes down to is, there's one pot of money."

Added deputy superintendent Dan Valdez, "If you see what is going on statewide, it's a pretty bleak picture."

Unions representing the teachers and administrative staff are working on the dollar-amount portions of their three-year contracts. Wording issues are tackled in different years, although there is one exception this year: The Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association wants to protect teachers who traditionally have enjoyed tenure. A state law that took effect on July 1 does away with tenure for new teachers. But the union's executive director, Stephanie Baxter-Jenkins, asked if longtime employees might be eligible for professional service contracts, a concept close to tenure.

Valdez said he will consult with the school district attorney.

The teachers are also pressing for teacher turnover statistics. Even though it is often impossible to know why a teacher left, since an undetermined number resign to avoid being fired, the teachers said these numbers could help them in future talks with legislatures.

The numbers could be misleading, Valdez warned, as the economy is making many hesitant to give up their jobs. But, he acknowledged, that will likely change when the economy recovers.

Baxter-Jenkins and others said the numbers will give them a clearer picture of the effect the state reforms are having on teacher retention.

"I have large concerns about the sustainability of the profession," she said, "if we keep -- not we, but people in Tallahassee and other places -- keep going in the directions where they make teaching just not an attractive field."

Negotiations are to resume in early August.