Sunday October 18

The first scenario was good. You must prepare. Even if you have not lived in the community for a length of time, you need find out what the community holds as well. In Jay Greening presentation, he said you even prepare what you think the other side may come to the table with. It is evident that this superintendent was not prepared and out of touch with the community.
As far as the simulation, keeping track of the paperwork began to get a little tricky. As note keeper and trying to watch the board and have notes in order in case we needed to reference back was tricky at times. John and Matt did a great job representing the group. I would have liked taking one of the issues we were stuck on and moved to an interest based bargaining approach, rather than sticking with positional. We were stuck on two issues. And the point about how many union people it really impacted is not something that I considered in the process. I would of liked to have heard more about the other groups ten starting points and what they finally settled on. We were very close in the area of salary at 2% vs. 2.25 for three years.
Thank you.
Sarah

Saturday, October 17

I was not aware of the death of the superintendent in Ottawa. As I listened to Travis talk, I could tell that this had hit very close to home for him. Hang in there Travis. Building a network of support beyond your own family and friends is even more evident. Moving on to the rest of class. I like the scenario's. Picking out what the big points in the area of negotiations is an area that has gotten easier as the class has moved along. The presentations were helpful and bring out the ideas. Negotiations were a little tougher. It is good to see the progress that is being made as you move through the process. I can see how it can be a rush along with complete frustration.

Great Class!

I thought today's class was jam-packed with interesting things to do. Of course, the other group may have had some breathing time since we took so long with our negotiations. I thought the Collective Bargaining Session for Group 1 was very beneficial. The union did an excellent job of staying on the items that really mattered to them, and I thought we did a good job as the board of not caving in to something we could not put in writing, but still did so without alienating the union. John and Matt both did great jobs as spokespersons!

The discussions and case study this morning were interesting and provided good information. The presentations also provided good information as well. Great job by everyone who presented!

I would like to thank everyone, especially Dr. Closen, for such a great classroom experience. The information in this class will be very useful for any of us who are fortunate enough to become superintendents. It was great to meet some new faces, and I wish the best for all of you!

October 18 - Sunday

This morning I enjoyed our case study of the midwestern town of Branville. As a new superintendent we need to be careful not to make to many changes (especially of past practice) without involving staff. That situation got this particular superintendent in trouble. It would be very difficult to bargain a new contract without the resources to do so in a strong unionized town.

Going through the presenations was a nice way to review and discuss some of the big concepts associated with collective bargaining. I enjoyed the feedback and discussion that followed. The presentation on collective bargaining and student achievement was great.

A side note to Deb: Congrats on finishing your program, passing your exam, and thanks for breakfast today.

Going through the simulations was very helpful. As we continued to go through the process it got a little easier. I can now imagine how sitting at the table for several hours, being courteous, attentive, and calm would take some work and skill. Keeping track of the cross bargaining issues and paperwork was difficult.

EDU 623 October 18

The negotiations continued to be a quality learning experience from beginning to end. It was certainly important to experience the process, keep the bigger picture of the contract in mind and work towards a win/win without putting the district in the red.
I can see the collective bargaining process a good place to begin but would also like to see more districts move towards an interest based process. However, trust and relationships would have to be formed prior to moving in that direction.
Union #1 did a very good job of representing the union and held strong on issues that union members would. The organization of knowing what has been tentatively agreed upon and knowing what remains is also a critical process. I would have a fourth individual keeping track of things electronically along with a traditional note keeped. With technology, it would seem that we could keep a draft of the contract updated as we progress.
That being said, I still have strong convictions that a superintendency is not going to be for me.

Sunday

Doing the negotiation process was a very enlightening experience. Even though it was an assimilation it gave you an idea of how things could play out. I think one of the main aspects of becoming a superintendent is to get to know your community and build trust. You could be the smartest person in the world, but if your staff does not like you or trust you - I think you don't stand a chance of being successful. Treating people with respect and working together is the key in negotiations and becoming a leader anywhere.

I also appreciate the take home test, and learned a lot from the presentations.

10/18/09

The presentations today were great. I really enjoyed getting indepth information on each of the topics. The comparison information between the two states was great. The differences in the way we do school when we cross state lines is really facinating.

I really found the 10 greatest mistakes handout informative. That will be a noce thing to put in a file that can easily be accessed when bargaining comes around. It's a good simple reference to help remind me how to keep from giving away the farm.

I really enjoyed the simulation. While it likely did not totally represent the experience, it gave a taste of what we might expect.