This is the San Diego Unified School District’s first Negotiations Update. The purpose of this update and future updates is to keep you informed about what is happening during our bargaining sessions with the San Diego Education Association (SDEA). Our goal is to send or post updates on the web soon after each session (www.sandi.net/negotiations). We are committed to providing factual and concise information.

Negotiations for New Contract Begin
The first negotiations session between the District and SDEA was held on September 22, 2008. The District and SDEA’s current Contract expired on June 30, 2008, but the contract will remain in effect until the parties reach a new agreement as a result of these negotiations.

On September 9, 2008, the Board of Education appointed Sam Wong to lead the District’s bargaining team. Sam is the District’s Chief Human Resources Officer. In the past, Sam has not been directly involved in negotiations with SDEA, but he has served the District with distinction for 36 years as a teacher, a site principal, and a central office administrator.

During our first session with SDEA, Sam highlighted his understanding of and experience with the issues that affect certificated employees, site principals, district-level administrators, and other stakeholders. He talked about the importance of these negotiations and the Board’s and the District’s commitments to the process.

District Proposes Written Ground Rules to SDEA
The District team proposed written ground rules to SDEA. The parties agreed in concept on most of the proposed ground rules, for example, to “conduct negotiations in a professional, business-like manner” and to present proposals in writing. But, in its written counter proposal, SDEA rejected several other District-proposed written ground rules, for example:

• to treat each other with dignity and respect
• to draft an agenda for the next session in advance (to allow both teams to be prepared for the next session)
• to work efficiently and to complete negotiations in 16 bargaining sessions

The District explained that having an agenda in advance is an important element for a successful negotiations process for both sides. The District will respond to SDEA’s ground rules counter proposal at the parties’ next session.

District Proposes Alternative Schedule for Negotiations
The District team identified several significant realities which will impact the parties’ ability to immediately exchange detailed written proposals:

• the extensive number of Articles and unique issues that SDEA wants to negotiate (20 articles and more than 100 separate issues);
• the absence of a 2008-09 State Budget until September 23, 2008;
• the need to assess the new budget’s impact on the District’s budget and operations;
• the need to reanalyze all economic proposals in light of the new budget;
• the upcoming Board election on November 4, and the possibility of as many as three new board members as of December 2008.

Based on these realities, the District team proposed a process that allowed for more preparation early in the process and the scheduling of blocks of time (four days per week) later in the school year. SDEA representatives were unwilling to discuss process and timeline issues. The parties agreed to address this issue and ground rules at the next session scheduled for September 29, 2008.