Members of the Johnson Creek School Board Personnel Committee and the negotiating team of the Johnson Creek Education Association made an incredibly bold move this year as they entered into teacher contract talks. In setting ground rules for their talks, both sides agreed to have as much as possible of the proceedings in open session.
Now, to many, this may be of little significance, especially to those who rarely read a newspaper, the ones who so often say,"How come I never heard about this?!?" at public forums... But I digress.
Because both sides of the negoatiations are maintaining a component of the process to be available for public view and press coverage, it is tantamount to both sides agreeing to bargain in good faith, and believing in the good faith facet of their talks enough to put them on display, to be so ardent about good faith bargaining that they jointly agreed to let the public, and consequently the press, in to hear the concerns of both sides, and to share the resolutions.
Just as there is good reason - about eight acceptable reasons - for elected officials who meet in regular sessions to legitimately go into closed session (although in regular session closed meetings should be the exception not the rule); labor contract talks maintain one or more of the primary reasons to take advantage of a closed session proviso a high percentage of the time.
Chief among them is the ability to negotiate candidly with potentially proprietary information that could have an impact on the final resolution if the proceedings were public. There are many gives-and-takes in negotiations, much like negotiating the sale and purchase of a home or land. Offers and counter offers are made and a course is set to get from point a to point b, but the actual trip can take several side trips with offers, language rewrites, questions on those rewrites, with it all consisting of partially completed pieces of a whole that can float around in disarray until a semblance of order appears on a completed document's language.
So there is good reason to have portions of negotiations in closed session, but the gesture to include the public when negotiating is also a gesture of good faith toward the public. One that encourages disclosure. One that is not based on or in fear. One that says that reason is the basis for this effort and the public recognizes reason.
In regular meetings of governing bodies the ability and reasons to go into closed session have sometimes become distorted. But that is not the case here related to teacher contract negotiations.
Self disclosure is a characterisitic of a good friend, and a person who is voluntarily self disclosing gains the trust of strangers.
So it is with the participants of this year's teacher contract talks, willing to share all that will not compromise the process, yet knowing that both sides gain by sharing with the community they serve. Also knowing that disclosure and openness can provide checks and balances on both sides if logic, reason and motives go off course.
The agreed decision locally by the leadership of the teachers and the representatives of the board to allow as much of the planned talks to be in open session should be considered a model at the vanguard of a new trend and direction. It demonstrates a willingness to share with the community (breaking down the concerns of those who are inherently suspicious or even cynical). In addition, it shows a willingnes to share not only the specidfcs of local issues, but to put on display the general struggle both sides face as constraints on educational funding remain caught in an ever tightening cinch.
Overall, everyone involved is to be congratulated for taking this bold step that should act as a model and example. You have taken a brave position, and as others in surrounding communities follow your example, risk dissipates to reveal in another way the nature of everyones' motives, ultimately illustrating why the cornerstone premise of our nation's foundation is that the government operates only by the consent of the governed and that it takes an informed electorate to properly decide who will take part in that government.
Once again Johnson Creek Schools prove themselves as leaders and innovators.
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Best to all,
Lloyd
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