simulation

Overall today went smoothly in the simulation activities. Of course, we have not gotten to the salary and insurance parts of the "dance". (referring to Dr. Closen's "Let the dance begin")
The majority of the proposals and counter-proposal lists dealt with the language of the CBA. Several of the items on both proposals have been tentatively agreed upon by both groups. We have a few language items to work on and the next step is to talk about salary and insurance.

After the rocky start we had the first session for establishing ground rules, I was glad to see that both groups were prepared to move forward in the negotiations today. Hopefully, we can continue to work together to find solutions to the consolidated district changes in salary and insurance expectations. There were some questions about where to start on the salary schedule and Neil and Guy met to determine starting places for the proposals.

Although I am sure it is easier to do this without knowing the whole story of politics and past practice, sometimes it has been important to establish what we considered to be past practices to provide rationale for the proposed items. Great day today!!