ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

MATTHEW FORDAHL

CHICAGO (AP)—Parents, teachers and bored students are calling a city hot line by the thousands and asking the same, unanswerable question: ‘‘When will schools open?’‘

‘‘I couldn’t tell you,’‘ volunteer operator Amy Semprevivo told a caller Tuesday as she punched the parent’s ZIP code into a computer. A listing appeared of nearby alternative schools, mostly makeshift sites staffed by volunteers in city parks and libraries.

Just hours before the day classes were to start for Chicago’s 411,000 public school students, the number of questions to the hot line was increasing—but the number of answers wasn’t.

The newly scheduled opening day, Sept. 14, is contingent on successful contract talks for teachers and the Legislature’s approval of a plan to erase the system’s $298 million deficit.

In Chicago, delegates for the Chicago Teachers Union voted Tuesday evening 675-0 to reject what the school board called its final offer.

‘‘We don’t believe the board’s numbers; we don’t believe the board’s budget,’‘ said Jacqueline B. Vaughn, president of the union, represents about 26,000 teachers and 5,000 other school employees.

There was no immediate comment from school administrators or board members. It was uncertain if schools will open on the scheduled date or if the board will reconsider its final offer.

Both sides told WLS-TV the offer included a two-year pay freeze, that 20 percent of teachers’ pay go toward medical coverage, elimination of 940 jobs, changes in seniority rules and $76 million in teacher give-backs.

In Springfield, a meeting among Gov. Jim Edgar and legislative leaders produced no movement, but all sides agreed to meet again Wednesday. They still disagree over how to close the budget gap and whether to link the budget to experimental education methods.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the ongoing talks hadn’t provide many answers for those calling the school hot line at City Hall.

Operators could only offer alternative schools to callers. Some of the programs offered free lunches to students who normally would have been fed at school.

‘‘Do you live near 55th? Archer?’‘ Semprevivo asked a caller. When the nearest alternative flashes across the amber computer screen, the retired telephone company employee gave the caller a phone number to make a reservation.

Semprevivo and dozens of other volunteers and city workers have staffed the hot line 24 hours a day since Sept. 1. More than 2,800 calls were placed from 12:01 a.m. to noon Tuesday.

‘‘We have a lot of patient people here,’‘ said Al Sanchez, deputy director of the Mayor’s Office of Inquiries and Information. ‘‘They do a lot of listening, and they try not to give advice. Any comments (callers) make we pass that along and let other people know how they feel.’‘

Most callers have been both friendly and serious, operators said.

‘‘Some of the parents ask, ‘Why are they doing it?’ and ‘Don’t you care about our children?’‘ said Maria Vega, a city employee. ‘‘We just have to tell them that we’re all in this boat together, and all we can do is hang on for the kids’ sake, if anything.‘’

The operators are most amazed by the number of school children calling the hot line, said Horace Pinkston, a city employee. And they’re not just checking to see how long summer has been extended.

‘‘They sound like they’re interested in going back to school,’‘ he said.

Much of the legislative dispute centers on a proposal to use $55 million in teacher pension funds for regular school expenses. House Minority Leader Lee Daniels, R-Elmhurst, said one Democratic leader suggested filling the gap with state money—an idea rejected by Republicans.

Daniels and Senate President James ‘‘Pate’‘ Philip, R-Wood Dale, said lawmakers should force concessions on teachers if the union won’t agree. Other state leaders were cool to the idea.