The negotiation teams completed the fifth day of collective bargaining on January 25, 2018.
The collaborative atmosphere yielded many ideas to better address professional learning, student-teacher contact time, and daily scheduling practices affecting the learning of students and working conditions of our staff.
Our current systems and structures can be improved to develop professional skills of certificated staff while also addressing scheduling practices impeding our work with students. Details will become available later in the process.
Discussion also occurred to help finalize tentative agreements related to employee orientations and various technical revisions to the contract.
Negotiations process (strategy*) has so far led to a greater understanding and appreciation for the collective work, issues, and interests of the entire District.
The negotiations teams consist of teachers, principals, and administrators with guidance provided by an outside facilitator. Our current agreement sunsets on June 30, 2018, and our goal is to renew that agreement prior to that date. There are three scheduled meetings in February.
*Both teams have been trained and have agreed on Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) as the foundational strategy for this year’s negotiation cycle. Teams are hopeful this new strategy will yield a speedy and amicable outcome. While traditional bargaining is often based on the passing of proposals constructed on a fixed position, IBB focuses on the mutual development of agreements based on the interests of both parties.
