Negotiations Sessions Cancelled

The next two negotiations sessions, April 15 and April 23, have been cancelled. Kevin Gullett and board members will be busy with a superintendent interview on the 15th, and Mr. Gullett knows the business office will not be finished with the attendance audit before the 23rd. As you know, the final numbers that come out of the attendance audit ultimately affect the budget for next year. Kevin and the business office staff will be much better equipped to make a salary offer once the audit is complete and they've had a chance to run the numbers. We're hoping to agree on a date for the next negotiations session in early May. As soon as we get a date and time set, we will let you know.

Meanwhile, enjoy the spring, and brace yourself for the flurry of end-of-school activities!!

New Days and Times Set for Negotiations

Happy Weekend!
The March 11 (Tuesday) negotiations session has been cancelled. Mr. Chapman and Mr. Gullett would like to wait until Mr. Gullett has had a chance to meet with officials in Topeka to determine exactly the amount of money the district will have for next school year. That meeting will not occur until the first week in April. We have scheduled two negotiations sessions in April:

Tuesday, April 15, 4:30pm
Wednesday, April 23, 6pm

Both meetings will occur at the board office. There is a possibility the meeting on April 15 will not happen, because it is an alternate date for superintendent interviews. We will keep you posted.

Your negotiations team,
Janet, Ginger, Kay, Betty, Shad, Dennis and Linda

More Negotiations Meetings Set

Our first meeting with the board's negotiating team went well. We exchanged initial proposals for all items opened, and you have received an e-mail regarding those details. Elimination of the early retirement program by 2010, eliminating binding arbitration of grievances from the grievance policy and eliminating certain special services personnel from the bargaining unit are probably the most alarming proposals presented by the board.

You should have received a summary of our first meeting and a request to complete an electronic survey regarding several issues on Thursday through the school e-mail. If you have not completed the survey, please do so by mid-afternoon today (Sunday, March 2). The LNEA team will be meeting Sunday (today) at 5 to determine what kinds of counterproposals should be presented.

Dates for the next two negotiations sessions have been set: Monday, March 4, 4:30 pm, and Tuesday, March 11, 4:30 pm. Both meetings are scheduled to take place at the board office.

Please attend if you can.

First Negotiations Session Feb 25, 6pm

Come one, come all to the first negotiations session for the 2008-09 contract. We will meet with the board's team at 6pm on Monday, February 25. Our goal is to have at least 2 people from each building at each negotiations session. We hope this will keep information flowing, and allow some consistent support for your team. Thanks in advance for your interest and support.