No Time for Old Tactics Management and unions must work together in the face of an unprecedented funding crisis for public schools. May 2010 |
It has been another tough spring for school districts across the nation. The economic crisis of the past two years is hitting school systems hard as districts plan for the 2010-2011 school year. State support to schools continues to decline, and the “soft landing” afforded by federal stimulus monies is a thing of the past. School districts must cut costs but find their options constrained by restrictive labor agreements in addition to the collective bargaining process itself. If ever there was a time for a new approach to bargaining, it is now.
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Many budget experts predicted that 2010-2011 would be the toughest year for schools. For example, more school districts in Orange County, Calif., have filed negative or qualified budgets than in previous years, meaning that they cannot maintain required budget reserves for the next couple of years. In other words, districts do not have the reserves, or savings account, to cover their deficit between increased expenditures and decreasing revenues. Even as state funding declines, school districts are locked into automatic pay increases for employees in the form of step-and-column advancement for longevity. In many places, freezing these pay raises can only be agreed to through the bargaining