After breaking all records for a state budget impasse, the Legislature caved and passed a “get out of town” budget. Unfortunately, lawmakers’ refusal to truly address the ongoing structural imbalance in the budget will likely mean another bad budget year next year.
Even before the 2008-09 budget is finalized, early projections are that the 2009-10 education budget will be just as difficult, or more so.
This situation poses significant challenges to K-adult education management teams and their strategies for 2008-09 and out-year negotiations. But help is on the way. This year’s K-adult Management Collective Bargaining Summits will focus on critical budget issues and provide management teams and board members with up-to-date perspectives and recommendations.
“The coming year of 2009-10 looks to be just as bad, if not worse, than this year,” said ACSA Management Services Executive Brett McFadden. “Districts would be wise to be very conservative when it comes to negotiations.”
The Collective Bargaining Summits will be an excellent opportunity to hear from expert practitioners and get first-hand knowledge of the following:
• The 2008-09 state budget’s impact on bargaining.
• Projections on union bargaining strategies.
• Steps to managing and controlling health care costs.
• Recommended strategies for management teams.
“This budget puts us further into the unknown,” McFadden said. “Education leaders are going to have to be the ones that protect their LEAs’ fiscal integrity. That will be our focus this year at the summits.”
ACSA, the School Employers Association of California and the California School Boards Association host the summits. Also supporting the events are the California Association of School Business Officials and the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association.
The 2008 summits are scheduled as follows:
• Sept. 29 – Sacramento Doubletree Hotel.
• Oct. 1 – Visalia USD.
• Oct. 7 – Ontario Airport Marriott.
Registration is still available. Program and registration information is available at www.seacal.org.
For more information on the summits contact Brett McFadden at (800) 608-ACSA or bmcfadden@acsa.org; or contact SEAC’s Ruben Ingram at (949) 387-1869 or e-mail omatat@seacal.org.