REPORT March 1999 Explaining California’s System

ollective bargaining to establish salaries, bene- unit, although supervisors such as principals may ® fits, and working conditions for public school form their own unit. Clarifying Cemployees is now an institutionalized fact of The rest of the employees comprise the classi- life in California — one that is simultaneously helpful Complex fied staff. For the purposes of bargaining, they are and unpredictable, familiar and not well understood, often subdivided into groups, such as clerical work- Education straightforward and complex. Virtually all public ers, custodians, or classroom aides. Issues school districts participate in collective bargaining. The impact of collective bargaining since the Starting negotiations authorizing legislation in 1975 has been pervasive: it Once the bargaining units are determined, each unit Collective plays a central role in each district’s decision making may elect a union as its exclusive representative by bargaining is process. It affects every aspect of a school’s environ- majority vote. An election need not be held if only a procedure, ment and budget and, on many occasions, educa- one union petitions to represent a unit; in that case, tional policies and practices. regulated by law, the district grants voluntary recognition. When for negotiating School districts can implement most new laws — exclusive representatives have been identified, bilat- from class size reduction to teacher evaluation — only eral good faith negotiations must begin. The law an employment after they have “bargained” the impact. This can be does not require that the negotiations result in a con- contract between a significant in a district’s labor-management relations. tract (see Figure 1). school district and Further, although districts bargain independently, The actual negotiators vary according to the size representatives control of revenues for public schools is centralized of the district and the nature of its personnel relation- of employees. All in Sacramento — leaving districts with limited flexi- ships. In small districts the superintendent (or a des- bility to satisfy competing requests for resources. California school ignee representing the school board) may negotiate This report explains how school district collec- directly with officers or representatives of the union. districts bargain tive bargaining works in California, how conflicts Larger districts may assign the responsibility to a with their unions are resolved, and who the players are. team of administrators. Unions usually select their in a process that bargaining team from within the membership. can range from How it works Either party may bring in an outside professional adversarial to negotiator to bargain according to instructions or cooperative. At least once every three years, the employer (the guidelines set by the school board or the union. For school board) and the exclusive bargaining agent example, the statewide unions, such as the California of the employees (the union) meet to negotiate the Teachers Association or California School Employees terms for working in the district. Collective Association, often offer assistance to local units, and INSIDE THIS REPORT bargaining is used to set salaries and bene- some school boards hire legal or other consultants. fits, hours, the calendar, and most aspects of Because negotiations are mandated once a How it works 1 the working conditions for the represented has been selected, the state reim- Administering the law 4 employees, as well as to solve unanticipated burses the school district for the direct expenses and resolving conflicts problems and address new issues during the (except for the superintendent’s time) that it incurs period of the contract. in the bargaining process, including the cost of sub- Who are the players? 7 stitutes for up to five teachers who are part of the An ever-changing 8 Choosing a union bargaining team. Unions pay for their costs out of setting The process for establishing collective bar- the dues collected from their members. gaining was initially spelled out in Senate The negotiations schedule is jointly planned, Bill 160, the Educational Employment Relations Act and the process can take months. Negotiations usually of 1975 authored by Senator Al Rodda (see box on result in a contract signed by and binding on both par- page 4). ties. It applies to all employees in the bargaining unit, Employees who do similar work may create a whether or not all of them have joined the union. EdSource thanks bargaining unit. Employees who hold a teaching The original intent was for negotiations to be the Walter & Elise Haas credential and a non-administrative teaching posi- completed before a school district approves its final Fund for its investment tion (including part-time) comprise the certificated budget. In practice, contracts often are delayed in our work. staff. In some districts, other employees, for example because the state’s budget is rarely adopted before nurses and librarians, are part of the certificated bar- July 1. Serious negotiations require knowledge of how © Copyright 1999 gaining unit. Credentialed management and super- much money the district will have available for salary by EdSource, Inc. visory employees are not included in the teachers’ increases, benefits, and other costs.

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Trish Williams Figure 1 EdSource Executive Director 1998–99 EdSource THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS Board of Directors

Sherry Loofbourrow, President Initial Former President, California School Proposal Boards Association Union William Moore, Vice President Public Vice Chairman of the Board, Comment Negotiations Tentative California Casualty Group "Sunshine" Agreement Gail Dryden, Secretary Initial Proposal Special Projects Director, League of Impasse District Women Voters of California Mediation Gerald C. Hayward, Fiscal Officer Revision, Adoption Sunshine Director, Policy Analysis for District's Intial Proposal Fiscal California Education Negotiations Effects William Chavez President, Strategic Education Services Fact Finding Carl A. Cohn Agreement Superintendent, Long Beach Contract Signed Unified School District

Deborah Daniels-Smith Negotiations Director, SUCCESS – (Mediator may California Student Opportunity participate) and Access Program

George Datz Chairperson, Educational Congress of California Unfair Contempt Work PERB Court Eugene Garcia Practice of Court Stoppage Decision Injunction Dean, Graduate School of Education, Charge Fine, Jail UC Berkeley

Karyn Gill President, League of Women Voters of California

Robert G. Haskell The dotted lines above indicate actions that occur when Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, the process fails. An unfair practice charge can be filed Pacific Life Insurance Company at any time during negotiations. EdSource 3/99 Donnell Jordan Teacher, Desert Sands Unified School District The term of a contract ranges from one to a Originally, the Rodda Act limited scope to Kelvin K. Lee maximum of three years. When negotiations stretch “matters relating to wages, hours of employment, Superintendent, Dry Creek Joint out for several months, the contract can be retroac- and other terms and conditions of employment.” Elementary School District tive to an earlier date. If agreed to in the original The latter were defined as certain health and welfare MaryAnn Memmer contract, specified items may be renegotiated (“re- benefits; safety conditions; leave, transfer, and reas- Vice President for Education, opened”) in the second or third year of a multi-year signment policies; evaluation, layoff, and California State PTA contract by either party. Reopeners can be limited to, procedures; and class size. John Mockler for example, salaries, benefits, and one other topic, President, John Mockler & Through the appeals process, litigation, and new Associates, Inc. or they can include a longer list of items. laws, scope now covers many more topics. Typical Peter Schrag examples of the contents of a contract are in Figure 2. Contributing Editor, Sacramento Bee The details of the contract Among the myriad possibilities, the subjects for Rosaline Turnbull The law defines “scope,” a broad range of issues and bargaining are categorized as mandatory, permissive, President, California State PTA subjects that either party may introduce for negotia- or prohibited. Mandatory items must be negotiated, Krys Wulff tion. Scope is a crucial, dynamic area, one that was and failure of a school board to do so is evidence of President, American Association frequently litigated when collective bargaining was bad faith. Permissive items may be negotiated if both of University Women - California new to public schools. sides agree, but there is no legal duty to do so.

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Non-negotiable items are preempted by the Figure 2 Education Code and are therefore beyond the scope of collective bargaining. Neither party may bring CONTENTS OF A TYPICAL TEACHERS’ CONTRACT those matters to the bargaining table. A crucial example of a non-negotiable item is the portion of the Education Code that describes due process — Compensation: cost-of-living adjustment, salary schedule, pay for specific duties (department chair, coach), mini- tenure — for permanent teachers. Dismissal proce- mum teacher salaries; expenses, travel reim- dures for all employees are spelled out in Califor- bursement, tuition reimbursement; mentor teacher nia’s Education and Government Codes. A contract selection process can reiterate a portion of one of these Codes, but the details are not subject to bargaining. Benefits: health and welfare premiums, specific plans The Rodda Act also indicates additional subjects offered, retiree benefits on which the two parties may decide to “consult.” For Hours: length of work day, work year, student year, example, certificated employees may be consulted calendar (holidays, vacations), minimum days, about the definition of educational objectives, con- preparation periods, lunch tent of courses and curriculum, and selection of text- Leaves: bereavement, pregnancy, child rearing, reli- books. The school board may expand the topics for gious, sick leave, disability, sabbatical, personal consultation. The items may, but do not have to, be need/necessity, jury duty, military, industrial included in the contract. accident/illness, catastrophic illness The school board can — and does — retain Retirement: early retirement, benefits management rights. Examples are setting broad performance targets for the district and developing Nondiscrimination: nondiscrimination budget procedures that control the number of Job assignment: assignment, promotion, transfer, reassignment employees. How the district does business can be separated from working conditions, although lines Class size & case loads: pupils per teacher, students per counselor, num- sometimes blur. ber of teaching periods, instructional aides Safety conditions: criteria The process of negotiating Evaluation: procedures and remediation California’s system of collective bargaining for public schools was originally patterned after the Grievance: procedures, appeal process, mediation, and confrontational private-sector model, and relation- arbitration ships were rocky in the beginning. As bargaining Discipline: procedures and criteria representatives were elected (often a contentious decision) and districts settled into the new process, Layoff & reemployment: procedures the adversarial nature of the process was tempered. Organizational security: payroll deduction of (“agency fee”), In the late 1980s a more cooperative method for maintenance of membership, fair share fees, reaching agreement about the critical aspects of union rights employer-employee relationships, “interest-based” bargaining, began to gain the support of many Work stoppage: “no-strikes” clause unions and school districts. Contract: duration, reopeners In the traditional bargaining system, each Savings clause: contract in effect if portion invalidated by court, party formulates a list of demands before beginning Legislature to negotiate. These positions are frequently openers for conversations in which both sides expect consid- Management rights: authority “to the full extent of the law” erable give-and-take. The central issue, salaries, is Consultation: topics, procedures frequently the area with the most contentious pro- posals — employees demanding a 10% raise, for example, with the employer asserting that the pro- EdSource 3/99 jected budget would allow only 1%. When the two sides are far apart, the negotiations can take many months to complete. During that time, the provisions Typically the participants begin with three days of the expired contract remain in force. of joint training. They learn how to identify mutual In contrast, interest-based bargaining is exactly needs, talk with each other, establish open commu- what the words say — negotiations based on inter- nication, build labor-management relationships, ests, not necessarily mutual, rather than on oppos- work through differences, resolve conflicts, and ing positions. reach closure. 3 Collective Bargaining ■ March 1999 REPORT

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agreement. Districts can THE HISTORY OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS face working relation- ships that range from har- monious to acrimonious. Until 1975, employees in public schools worked under annual, individually signed employment contracts. Their Even while playing by the ties with professional associations were loose or nonexistent. Improvements in wages and working conditions same rules or receiving were idiosyncratic, depending on the circumstances and inclinations of each school district, which at the time identical instructions from could set its property tax rate to cover expected costs. the statewide organiza- Growing interest in the success of collective bargaining in the private sector led the California Legislature to pass tion, school boards and the Winton Act in 1965. It required districts and teachers to “meet and confer” on subjects of mutual interest. Ulti- unions make their own mate authority, however, rested with the local school board. decisions and create their unique local contracts. Seeking a stronger voice in decisions, the statewide teacher unions lobbied to establish formal collective The climate and the bargaining. After several failed attempts, Senate Bill 160 (Rodda), the Educational Employment Relations outcome can also be Act, was finally signed in 1975. The provisions, which originally applied to kindergarten through community greatly affected by leg- college employees, were extended in separate but related laws to most state workers in 1978 and to higher islative and gubernatori- education employees in 1979. By 1997-98 over 675,000 pre-kindergarten through college employees were al decisions. The existing covered by the Act. Education Code and new The Rodda Act, which is part of the California Government Code, states that its purpose is “to promote the legislation can compli- cate or limit the options improvement of personnel management and employer-employee relations within the public school systems in the available to school State of California.” Teachers in particular are granted a “voice in the formulation of educational policy.” The law boards and unions. establishes the right of public school employees to choose organizations that will represent them in their employ- ment dealings with school districts. In short, it gives employees the right to unionize, and it requires school districts Further, funding for to recognize the duly elected unions as the sole bargaining agents and to negotiate only with them. public education is cen- tralized in Sacramento. In

EdSource 3/99 years of minimal increas- es, the amount of money available to the district Responses to this process range from dissatis- can leave little room for negotiation no matter how faction to great enthusiasm, although not all prob- favorable the intentions. Sometimes trade-offs with lems are easily solved. Interest-based bargaining an educational impact have to be made, such as works best in an atmosphere of trust and reliable shortening teachers’ work day (e.g., eliminating one information. It can also be used to address issues of period) in lieu of a salary increase or expanding the joint interest that are not connected to the contract. pupil-teacher ratio in exchange for higher wages. Ris- The key organization supporting collaborative bar- ing premiums for health care or other benefits cause gaining is CFIER, the California Foundation for additional pressure on the budget. Setting priorities Improvement of Employer-Employee Relations (see for expenditure of limited funds can lead to frustra- box on page 5). The California Teachers Association tion, and sometimes bitterness, as both parties strug- has an extensive training program in interest-based gle to achieve an agreement perceived to be fair to bargaining. employees and to the educational needs of students. Not all negotiations fit neatly into either of these two models. A number of California districts have An appointed board gone beyond collaborative bargaining to develop atypical agreements. These contracts are generally administers the law referred to as “innovative bargaining agreements.” and resolves conflicts They could cover difficult topics not usually includ- ed in the scope of negotiations, such as teacher quali- Disagreements can arise at any time, even with inter- ty and student achievement. est-based bargaining. The original collective bargain- ing law and its amendments provide for a state-level Internal and external pressures adjudicating body, the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). The law spells out the steps that must In each school district, the “climate” — the historical be taken to solve problems. relationships, number and types of disputes, and role of the community — greatly affects the nature of the negotiations and the appearance of the final

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PERB been reached. A mediator may be assigned to assist in reaching a compromise. Failing resolu- Collective bargaining legislation is administered by tion, the mediator may agree to send the dispute PERB. The salaried, five-member Board is appointed to fact finding, wherein each party appoints one by the governor, subject to Senate approval, for five- panel member and PERB provides a chairperson. year terms. Staff are located in Sacramento and vari- The recommended terms of settlement are adviso- ous field offices. ry only, that is, neither the school board nor the PERB oversees the bargaining unit’s selection of a union has to accept them. However, both the facts union; handles questions in disputes, such as charges and the recommendations must be made public of unfair labor practices; appoints fact finders; and ten days after they are determined, and negotia- maintains a public file with copies of all signed con- tions may resume at this point. tracts. A contract with the State Mediation and Concil- ■ work-to-rule/strike. Both parties, especially in con- iation Service provides mediators when needed. frontational bargaining, sometimes exert pressure The Legislature has deliberately assigned tactics during the process. Employees who object responsibility for almost all collective bargaining to the status of negotiations may work-to-rule, decisions to PERB. Judicial review is limited: PERB that is, strictly follow the hours and other condi- rulings are final unless the evidence shows that tions in the existing contract. Examples are refus- court review is warranted. ing to attend meetings or advise a student club Although PERB’s function is interpretive, not outside of school hours. legislative, it has become a quasi-judicial body that is a Employees can also stage a sick-out or have powerful force in the politics of education in California. informational . The employer can present its viewpoint to the press and the school The process for handling disputes community. Once formal impasse procedures The disputes that PERB handles are grouped into have been exhausted, employees can call a work strike categories, and rules cover the procedures for reso- stoppage — a . lution. These include: Until the mid-eighties, strikes were neither ■ unfair labor practice. During the process of negoti- explicitly permitted nor forbidden in California; ating for a new or renewed contract, a charge PERB had jurisdiction to ask a court to issue an of unfair labor practice for violating the law may injunction to halt a strike. In May 1985, the Cali- be leveled by either party or by an individual fornia Supreme Court ruled that strikes by public employee. Examples are refusing to meet and employees are permitted unless public health or negotiate in good faith; coercing or threatening safety is threatened. Despite this authority, unions reprisals against employees; or (rarely used these in California have been cautious in calling strikes. days) trying to influence the selection of a union. The resolution can involve several steps — Disputes outside of bargaining review by a staff member of PERB to determine if Sometimes districts and unions have disagreements an unfair practice may exist, an informal meeting that are not a part of negotiations. A common exam- with a neutral third party to attempt to mediate a ple is a grievance over the “interpretation, applica- resolution or narrow the issues, then a hearing tion, or violation” of an existing contract. before an Administra- tive Law Judge, and, upon appeal, a review by the PERB board itself CFIER SUPPORTS INTEREST-BASED BARGAINING (see Figure 3). PERB reported a “significant” Spearheading the movement for collaborative labor relations is the California Foundation for Improvement of increase in unfair labor Employer-Employee Relations. Begun in 1987 as a project of PERB, the Public Employment Relations Board, practice charges in 1996- CFIER gained the support of the education community, state government, and private foundations. In 1991 the 97 and 1997-98. California Legislature recommended that CFIER become an independent non-profit foundation. ■ impasse/mediator/fact The organization is committed to "building and maintaining effective labor-management relationships and finding. If negotiations partnerships." To accomplish this goal, CFIER promotes the collaborative "interest-based" approach for resolv- break down completely, ing conflicts and reaching consensus. Its activities include training programs in negotiations and problem solv- either party may file a ing, neutral facilitation services, skill-building workshops and conferences, consultation, research and request for PERB to de- development, and long-term support services. clare that an impasse has EdSource 3/99

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Figure 3

RESOLVING UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE DISPUTES

Employee

PERB Unfair Employee determines Practice Organization if facts warrant Charge charge

No Employer Yes

Charge Charge Charge Complaint issued Amended Withdrawn Dismissed

Appeal Respondent files answer To PERB

Informal conference with Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)

Settlement by Request for formal hearing mutual agreement by either party

New ALJ assigned Formal hearing, transcript

ALJ decision based on facts, PERB decisions, applicable law

Appeal to PERB An appointed five-member state adjudicating body, the PERB sends Statement of Exceptions Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) administers back to ALJ Supporting brief California's collective bargaining law and reviews charges of unfair labor practice. When an unfair labor practice charge is leveled, PERB decides if the charge is warranted. The process may include a hearing before an Administrative PERB modifies or PERB affirms reverses decision decision Law Judge and, upon appeal, a review by the PERB board.

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Grievance procedures, which can differ district the second largest in the nation. UTLA, which has to district, are the processes by which the terms of a its own full-time lobbyist in Sacramento, began as a contract are enforced. Most begin in a meeting with a blend of the local CTA and CFT bargaining units. supervisor in which employees describe the problem. United Educators of San Francisco is a coalition of In the absence of resolution, a written communication teachers and classified staff who belong to alleging a contract violation is then filed. Grievance CTA/NEA and CFT/AFT. mediation with an interest-based approach is one Classified (non-teaching) employees belong to method now used by the State Mediation Service. An several different unions. California School Employ- unsettled claim is reviewed by the superintendent or ees Association (CSEA) represents just under 140,000 designee, and in some cases the next step is a final public employees statewide, many of them clerical decision by the school board. workers. It is the largest independent classified A frequent alternative is arbitration of the dis- employee union in the U.S. pute by an outside party. If the contract specifies Many maintenance and other similar employees binding arbitration, the recommendation will be are part of the American Federation of State and final. If not, it is advisory, which means the final Council Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which review and decision are made by the school board. has about 54,000 dues-paying members, or of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Who are the players? With multiple unions in most districts, employee Unionism is very big business in California, with contracts — though negotiated separately — often considerable power because of the substantial politi- have an impact upon each other. An example is the cal contributions that unions make. In addition to “me-too” agreement that has similar or identical providing advice and services to their local units, clauses to other contracts. Even contracts of individ- the major statewide unions take a strong interest in ual district administrators can be affected by other ballot measures and legislation that would affect collective bargaining agreements. their employees. Help and information for the employers, over a The California Teachers Association (CTA), an thousand school boards and county offices of educa- affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), tion, comes from CSBA, the California School Boards is the state’s largest repre- sentative of education employees with over 280,000 members in 1999. TYPICAL CONCERNS IN NEGOTIATIONS The California Federation of Teachers (CFT), an Two issues connected to collective bargaining are of perennial interest and, often, confusion to interested par- affiliate of the American ties and the public. The first is data. What are the facts about a school district’s budget, its expected revenues, Federation of Teachers and its spending priorities or constraints? Is money hidden somewhere? What is the total compensation pack- (AFT), represents 95,000 of age (salaries and benefits) for various employee groups, how does it compare to neighboring districts, and why the state’s K-12 teachers, are they different? Which revenue sources are earmarked for particular purposes and not available for salary community college facul- increases? The convoluted system for funding schools makes answers to these questions hard to get, yet money ty, various K-12 and high- is at the heart of the negotiating process. Sometimes even the union and the school board start out with differ- er education classified employees, librarians and ent sets of numbers, which is bewildering to the public. lecturers in the University The second issue is equally hard to nail down, that of clear communications. Because negotiating occurs in pri- of California system, and vate, very few people outside the process know what is being said. In addition, evaluating the validity of either some private schools. side’s claims and demands is somewhere between difficult and impossible. This is particularly true when the At least two districts scope of the bargaining includes many topics, not all of them directly related to money. One of the advantages have unusual local bar- of a non-confrontational approach to negotiations is the potential for educating the public about the goals and gaining units. United mutual interests of the employer and employees. Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) represents over Because of these provisions and practices, the school community, sometimes including the affected employees, 35,000 teachers and sup- has little or no access to information about what is being discussed unless the bargaining parties agree to pro- port service personnel vide public communications about their progress. throughout Los Angeles Unified School District, EdSource 3/99

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Collective Association, and from ACSA, the Association of California School Adminis- Bargaining trators, both of which offer workshops, training, and publications to their JANUARY 1998 members. Unlike the unions, however, these organizations are rarely directly Written by: involved in a local district’s collective bargaining process. Penny Howell Program Consultant The third player, a peripheral one even though some provisions of a con- Researched by: tract can have a direct impact on parents, is the public. Negotiations are almost Barbara Miller always conducted in private, as the law allows. Research Director A sunshine clause encourages public input into negotiations: both parties must publicly present their initial proposals for comment at a publicized school EdSource is an independent, impartial, board meeting before negotiations begin. In some districts a “sunshine commit- statewide not-for-profit tee” or public group studies both proposals and offers comments at this meet- 501(c)(3) organization ing. Any new subjects that are raised during negotiations must be made public established in California within 24 hours. The financial impact — cost and funding source — of the set- in 1977. tlement must be explained prior to adoption of the final contract by the school board, since it may affect the educational program. EdSource develops and If both parties agree, any phase of negotiations may be conducted publicly, distributes accurate, bal- or observers may be invited. In San Francisco, for example, the district PTA anced information about president is an observer in all negotiations. Typically, however, the school board California’s education and union announce their opening positions — perhaps with lengthy details policy and school but more likely in terse statements — and then talk privately. Although any improvement issues to wide and diverse audi- meeting with a majority of school board members must be open to the public, ences. Our goal is to the Rodda Act specifically permits private meetings between the school board develop an informed Cal- and its negotiator to discuss bargaining. ifornia citizenry in order to encourage thoughtful dialogue, increase partici- The setting for pation, and enable FOR MORE INFORMATION informed decision mak- collective bargaining ing on behalf of Califor- is always changing nia’s public schools.

Although each district has its own style and set The world in which public schools operate is of working conditions, each one must report the always changing, with new reforms, new reg- To learn more about our ulations, new technologies, and many new organization, to request same financial and demographic information to an annual report, or to be students. Inevitably this means new issues for the California Department of Education. The placed on our general comparable data is publicly available at the collective bargaining. mailing list, please con- web site developed by the Education Data Part- The basic legislation about collective bar- tact EdSource. gaining has changed little in the past decade. nership (California Department of Education, 4151 Middlefield Rd. But the subjects for bargaining and the ways in Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, Suite 100 Alameda County Office of Education, and which the process is handled have changed a Palo Alto, CA EdSource) — www.ed-data.k12.ca.us. great deal, due to new laws and ongoing rulings 94303-4743 by PERB and sometimes the courts. 650/857-9604 Two other useful contacts are: The increased attention during the late ‘90s Fax 650/857-9618 to improving K-12 education introduces ques- CFIER e-mail 1325 Howe Avenue #210 tions that are not easily answered. For example, [email protected] Sacramento, CA 95825 how does collective bargaining interact with site- or visit us on the web at based decision making, or new pay structures www.edsource.org Phone 916/567-9911 for teachers, or accountability of teachers and Fax 916/567-0776 students? PERB While changes in state law may answer 1031 18th Street some of these questions, most likely they will also Sacramento, CA 95814 be discussed across the bargaining table. School Phone 916/322-3198 district and employee unions, in their negotia- Fax 916/327-6377 tions, will retain considerable control over how education dollars are spent locally and how

effectively even the most ambitious education ®

reforms are implemented. Clarifying Complex Education Issues