How many in the bargaining unit?
500+ How long has the association participated in IBB? 5 years. A new administration committed to it. We were having difficulty getting a person to head up the traditional bargaining. It was also an attempt to diffuse adversarial atmosphere and polarizing publicity. What have you learned from the experience? Consensus is hard to arrive at sometimes. What are the benefits of IBB? • Better exchange of information – our central office has been very up front with information. • Mutual attempt to solve problems- if we wanted to change anything before, we had to design the solution and then the school board decided if they would accept or tinker with it. • Less volatile atmosphere in community – less incomplete publicity; we’ve found the newspaper doesn’t want to cover this because it is slow. This doesn’t galvanize our side, but it doesn’t stir up the board side either. • Fewer attempts by the board side to take away things already in the contract-they have to show that the current contract
