“Good Faith” is a legal standard to which both sides must adhere. To this point, both the Association and the Board of Education have bargained in good faith, and the Teachers’ Association will continue to do so in pursuit of a fair and reasonable settlement. Whether each side is bargaining in the best interests of employees, students, and the community is a different question. The Board of Education’s proposal is certainly not in the best interests of its employees, and we believe their proposal would also harm students and the community as it would diminish the quality of education students receive at our school.

In April, 2016, bargaining between the Board of Education and the Teachers’ Association began. The Board of Education and Bond Issue election occurred on April 4, 2017. Up to that point, the Teachers’ Association and the Board of Education had been working collaboratively to restructure the salary schedule on which teachers are paid. On April 11, 2017, one week after the election, the Board of Education presented their first complete proposal to the Teachers’ Association. That proposal is the one we discussed with the community at the meeting on November 2^nd.

As was discussed at the Community Meeting on November 2, the Teachers’ Association has made several proposals to bring members of the community into District 94’s planning and decision-making processes. The Teachers’ Association is perplexed by the Board’s refusal to discuss these initiatives, but we cannot speak for the BOE. This question can best be answered by the members of the Board of Education.