Negotiations are always important to a school district’s financial health, but never more so than now when facing a huge structural deficit in the state budget and a national economy in recession.
This is why the upcoming 2009 ACSA Symposium for Negotiators is so critical to attend. Held Jan. 21-23 in San Diego, the symposium will inform and upgrade the skills of management negotiators, and provide immediate and practical answers for anyone involved in negotiations or who is part of a negotiating team.
One session certain to provide impactful information will be “Preparing Your Case: Best Practices for Developing Your Data and Arguments for Negotiations.” The workshop is being presented by symposium co-chair Tanya Krause, assistant superintendent of human resources with Santa Cruz City Schools, and ACSA Management Services Executive Brett McFadden.
McFadden said preparation is the key to smooth negotiations.
“Not all negotiations end up going to fact-finding,” McFadden said. “But if you prepare the data for fact-finding ahead of time, having that information at your fingertips as negotiations progress can be immensely helpful in addressing issues as they arise, and keep some items from going to impasse.”
Besides this excellent workshop, the symposium will feature two-and-a-half days full of informative workshops and sessions, all with plenty of practical tips for dealing with negotiations. In addition, there will be top-notch keynote speakers, including attorney Greg Dannis, coach and trainer Paul Starkey, and Ron Bennett of School Services of California.
“This year’s symposium will continue to provide new and veteran negotiators and their teams with strategies for the current challenges,” Krause said. “Additionally, there are several opportunities to hear what other districts are doing or not doing for comparative data.”
Even though union bargaining units are aware that these are bad budgetary times for school districts, Krause noted that sometimes employee representatives will try to seek contract language instead of dollars in these situations. The symposium will offer attendees options in response to such requests.
More information on the 2009 ACSA Symposium for Negotiators and Negotiation Teams can be obtained by contacting ACSA’s Educational Services Department at (800) 608-ACSA or (650) 692-4300.