Open Contract Negotiations?
- on 04.03.06
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District 26 in Cary may open up all or part of its teacher negotiations to the public. I knew this was on a previous board agenda. This would be fun to watch. The public would finally get a glimps into how the teacher unions operate. Maybe we can convince other districts to do the same. Total transparency is always better for the taxpayer.
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The most interesting part of the session, however, will be the chance of it being open to the public. Imagine that, you’ll actually get to see how a massive chunk of your tax bill gets sliced and diced by the school district. Currently, it sounds like at least some board members are open to the idea – it was their idea – but it’s unclear how the union will feel about it. And both sides must agree to open the meeting if it’s going to happen. |
I’d bet the union won’t like this idea at all.
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This would keep stories from leaking out from either side, trying to smear the other, which was a big problem during the negotiations in 2002 when teachers went on strike for a week. |
This would have been very beneficial in our district as well. The only information that was released came from the union.
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Too often, crowds of residents will gather around Election Day to shout about the need to give teachers more cash or that a district is wasting too much. But those who yell the loudest often soon vanish after the votes are tallied. This could be a rare opportunity to understand the issues, at least in District 26, rather than just complain about them. |
That is oh so true. We need to keep people involved. If you just elect board members, but don’t support them later, you only have yourself to blame when the results are not what you like.
Attend meetings, ask questions, be informed, be vigilant.
