Bargaining with employees is an important part of board duties. It ensures the community, through its elected school board, has direct involvement in setting policy and spending resources. If a quorum is present, actions could immediately bind the board to a contract, which may not be in the district's best interest. It depends on whether the subject is a mandatory or permissive subject of bargaining. A permissive subject of bargaining is clearly a management prerogative or is designated as an exclusive management prerogative by the constitution, state law, or administrative rule.
Many districts use interest-based, collaborative bargaining.
Such bargaining includes approximately five to10 people on each team. The teams then form into subcommittees, which study negotiation issues and recommend a solution to the entire group. For collaborative bargaining, the parties use a facilitator. OSBA and OEA have a joint program for training and facilitation in the collaborative bargaining process. Contact Human Resource Development at OSBA for further information.