This report describes the historical process through which a public employer and the public employees in a school system ultimately reached a satisfactory level of mutual accommodation. Over a 20-year period, the gradual shift in the relative power of the parties produced a relationship from which at least some elements of conflict had been…

Offers advice to school board members regarding the collective bargaining process. Suggests actions the board can take to develop bargaining guidelines and a labor relations program. Presents a sample conversation between a school board member and a union representative. (IW)

Offers predictive propositions concerning what happens when the school board is the initiator of change and the union is the protector of the status quo. (Author/JM)

THE AUTHOR STATES THAT THREE DEFINITIONS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT'S ROLE ARE DISTINGUISHED BY THE FORM OF THE PARTICULAR NEGOTIATION PROCESS--(1) SUPERINTENDENT UNINVOLVED, WITH NEGOTIATION CARRIED ON DIRECTLY BY TEACHER-ORGANIZATION REPRESENTATIVES AND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, (2) SUPERINTENDENT ACTING AS BOARD OF EDUCATION REPRESENTATIVE IN…

Discusses how the board bargaining team can use the caucus effectively both offensively and defensively. (IRT)

This dissertation describes a study that sought to determine the relative bargaining effectiveness of the three options open to school boards in selecting a chief negotiator to handle collective bargaining with teacher unions: 1) hiring a professional negotiator from outside the community, 2) appointing a staff administrator, or 3) appointing a…

A school board member responds to an article by Albert Shanker that appeared in the previous issue. (IRT)

This report presents the findings of a study that examined how contracts between school districts and teacher organizations affect curriculum and instruction and how school board members and teacher leaders view the negotiation of curriculum and instruction matters. To gather data for the study, the authors first examined teacher contracts in 28…

A composite guidebook covers the collective wisdom and teachings of local school governance. From goal-setting to policy making to board-superintendent relations, this publication places in one complete resource information available to the new and the veteran school board member. Although specifically directed to Pennsylvania board members, the…

The role of the school board and strategies for collective bargaining are described in this guide. Section 1 describes the development of a board philosophy, including techniques and imperatives for the collective bargaining table. The second section examines the school board role in negotiations, with a focus on its role in labor relations and…

Three leadership imperatives for school board members in school reform are presented in this paper. The imperatives are linked to specific challenges confronting the public school system, which include collective bargaining, student testing, and cultural diversity. Each is discussed and related to a legislative school board action that determines…

This paper argues that school boards give away too much in contract negotiations with teacher associations without making sure the concessions they make result in higher educational quality. Educational administrators' general lack of expertise in labor relations, the author maintains, tends to lead to low quality contracts. Reviewing 11 articles…

The superintendent is the chief advisor to the school board on all matters relating to the meet and confer process, and he acts as the main channel of communication between the school board and the management team and the Certificated Employees Council. (Published by California School Boards Association, 800 9th Street, Suite 201, Sacramento,…

As teacher associations and unions have increased in number and strength, superintendents and education boards have had to devote more time to the process of negotiations. In the winter and spring of 1989, 400 questionnaires were mailed to a random national sample of school superintendents to examine the following areas dealing with negotiations…