District-level directors, principals, and human resource personnel can bring important viewpoints and information in assisting the school board and superintendent during the teacher negotiations process. Unfolding in this case study are the myriad pressures brought forth to the key players in the process, the negotiating process of interest-based…

Some of the most dramatic gains in urban education have come from school districts using what is known as a "portfolio strategy." Under this approach, districts negotiate performance agreements with public schools--traditional, charter, and hybrid models. The arrangement affords school leaders substantial autonomy to handcraft their…

School districts implement a variety of initiatives that too often fall short. This case study investigated how one public school district in southeastern Michigan implemented interest based-bargaining (IBB). The study also sought to understand the factors that influenced the decision-making process and what was considered when making…

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the typical terms and conditions of employment in 2012-2013 negotiated agreements in Pennsylvania school districts, and to determine if there was a relationship between enrollment size and 5 selected terms and conditions of employment: base salary; highest salary; teacher contribution for one…

This dissertation reports the results of a qualitative and quantitative research project that examined the perceptions of fifteen participants, in three separate school districts, concerning interest-based and traditional collective bargaining. The study focused on the relationships between administrators and teachers, as well as the financial…

This study compares the succession of urban principals working under negotiated collective bargaining agreements and conferred "memorandums of understanding" with particular school boards in three of Ohio's major cities: Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo. Relying on the following information: tenure, licensure status, professional…

Suggests that negotiations between a board of education and the superintendent are difficult and can be embarrassing, but they can contribute to an understanding of the way two parties work cooperatively for better schools. (JF)

A sample survey of public-school teachers shows a majority favor the agency shop. (DB)

To attract and retain an adequate supply of competent teachers, professional salaries and fringe benefits must be increased to a level competitive with other professions and occupations requiring comparable preparation and experience. The NEA has recommended that salary schedules negotiated between school districts and teachers should be based…

The first in a series of articles devoted to raising questions about the meaning of collective bargaining to educational organizations, inquiring after the nature of the process, and devising strategies for obtaining maximum organizational and educational utility from collective bargaining and related structures. (Author)

In this article, a professional negotiator for school boards explains why public participation in teachers' contract negotiations won't work. (Editor)

The author, by referring to psychological and sociological research studies, cautions both teacher groups and boards of education in the activity of teacher negotiations. (JA)