July 7

The weekend has been of value to simulate the negotiating of a teacher contract. From the perspective of teacher, we have had to take a step back to provide reasonable proposals to our board. Our group spent much time reviewing the contract to find language and clarity issues to improve the current contract. Roles of board and teachers were well taken as we moved with the activity. Working under our ground rules has allowed us to negotiate effectively. It will be interesting to see where our final contract is agreed upon--with short time, we have all worked to simulate the true activity while being as close to reality as possible. I believe that language items will be settled quickly and agreeably while financial items will be resolved without agreement. It will be interesting to see if everyone walks away feeling good about the contract.