A publication of the Association of California School Administrators

What I learned from 20-plus years of participating in negotiations

Tips for preparing for your next negotiation sessions

By Corey Willenberg | January | February 2025

hen most of us went through our administrative credential programs, there was not much time spent on learning the ins and outs of negotiating with labor groups. Having been directly involved in negotiations in three school districts for over 30 years, I have learned some tips that can be useful to those who sit at the negotiations table and may be helpful as you prepare to meet with your employee groups.

Determine who is at the bargaining table: Most collective bargaining agreements lay out the participants for their group. For instance, my teacher’s group had five teachers and their union service center representative at each of our sessions for a total of six. Since my district is small, the superintendent was the lead negotiator. I would have my chief business official (CBO), a principal, my human resources person and one or two district administrators join us. Hiring an attorney to sit at the table may prove beneficial. For my first three years of negotiations, I did not have an attorney at the table. Instead, the district would mutually agree on language that would result in going to mediation and/or arbitration. Having an attorney at the table, however, could give the district guidance on contract language. Some legal firms have attorneys that specialize in collective bargaining, which in the long term is less expensive than going to mediation. Since my district was small, and I needed to work with employees after negotiations, my attorney could take the lead if issues threatened to strain relationships.

How much money do I have to work with? I always started the school year working with my CBO to determine what dollar amount we had for negotiations that would allow us to meet our obligations for the current school year and the following two school years. After the initial budget was set, the CBO would develop a chart for me with the cost of a 1 percent raise for all bargaining groups and each group separately. The cost of 1 percent would include step and column, PERS/STRS, and the district increase in health and welfare benefits. I would then have discussions with my board on how much they would like to spend on negotiating with labor. I would also work with my superintendent colleagues in my county to develop a shareable document that had all of the settlement amounts for reference. I always wanted to make sure my salary settlements were in alignment with what other districts were settling for, since we compete in the same recruitment pool. My CBO also tracked the negotiated settlements with each bargaining group for the last 25 years. I wanted to make sure that we could answer the question of the amount of compensation on-the-salary-schedule and off-the-salary-schedule employees received in previous years. I also wanted to make sure I could defend my position if I had to go to impasse.

My board always wanted me to communicate the results to the bargaining groups. I would share proposals and counter proposals on the district’s website. But be careful not to editorialize in your negotiation updates.

From the district perspective, which issues need to be addressed in the collective bargaining agreement? At the beginning of each school year, I would meet with my cabinet, administrators and human resources staff to determine which language should be addressed during negotiations. The key is to identify collective bargaining agreement language that will benefit the district and align it with salary improvements.

What are the ground rules for each group at the negotiations table? Each year it is a good idea to review expectations and review procedures. This would include deciding schedules (when to break for lunch, when we planned to end for the day), how we would caucus, where each group would caucus, and how we would communicate the results of the negotiations sessions to the district. Collaborating on an agenda for the day, before the day of negotiations, can set you up for a successful day.

Communicating the results of each negotiations session: My board always wanted me to communicate the results to the bargaining groups. I would share proposals and counter proposals on the district’s website. But be careful not to editorialize in your negotiation updates. As Sgt. Joe Friday famously said, “Just the facts, ma’am.” I would also share an update on the negotiation session with the board. I would do this via email to the entire board and often in person or on the phone with the board president. However you communicate with the board, it’s important to make sure your board has the most up-to-date information because the board must be prepared with all the necessary information to answer any questions or complaints that bargaining unit members or the community may have.

Be mindful of what you and your team say at the negotiations table: Even though negotiations should be confidential, comments said at the table can, and will, come back to haunt the district team at board meetings and communications to bargaining group members.

Talk to your colleagues about the issues they are dealing with at their tables: My county superintendents would hold monthly meetings and one of the items that would be discussed would be negotiations. At those meetings, sometimes you would learn of a possible issue that might be coming to your table that was driven by CTA or CSEA that had been brought to the table in another district. All of the discussions were confidential and helped me prepare for my next negotiation session.

Labor negotiations are an integral part of school district operations. It is vital the people in charge of the negotiations process be knowledgeable of the process, prepared on the amount of money available, and plan to address collective bargaining agreement language that needs improvement.

Corey Willenberg, Ed.D., recently retired after 13 years as the superintendent of the Oroville Union High School District and 37 years in education. He is a lecturer in the School of Education at California State University, Chico.