Process instigated by Trustees in April 2016: see comments
BCSD Trustees agreed to enter into a “one-time negotiation” with school district administrators regarding employment contracts. Both parties’ approval will be needed to ratify any decisions made, according to the approved motion.
School district administrators have become paid members of the Teamsters Union in anticipation of contract negotiations with the Board of Trustees. Two union negotiators were in attendance at tonight’s special meeting of the board. Negotiators have also attended the last two regular meetings of the BCSD Board of Trustees, as well as the working session of the Board after the regular September meeting, where they disrupted the meeting.
The trustees convened to a Closed Executive Session to “discuss administrator negotiations, consider records that are exempt from disclosure, and to discuss possible litigation,” according to the posted agenda. The full agenda for tonight’s special board meeting can be viewed here or on the BCSD website here. The motion to negotiate employment contracts with administrators was made and approved after the trustees reconvened to open session.
Parents of Blaine County Students 
Dear Ellen,
Thank you so much for sending this. Did you go to the Community Campus and wait for Executive Session to end? If so, how long did you have to wait? What about the two men from the Teamsters? Did they just hang out and wait for the end of Exec Session, then the motion & vote? Was there board discussion of the motion? Who said what? I’m sorry, but I simply was not able to drive to Hailey and do all of that, this evening. I’ve been working on other BCSD issues.
I’d certainly appreciate hearing more details from you, and your opinion of the happenings! 🙂
Thanks again!, Barbara Browning
Dear Barbara,
Yes, I arrived before last night’s meeting began and stayed until the trustees reconvened to open session, as did the administrators in attendance, the two Teamsters Union negotiators, and a few other people.
The trustees reconvened to open session around 8:40 pm. Trustee Clayton had left around 8:30 pm to go home to his family. It was obvious that a decision had been reached that he was comfortable with.
There was no discussion by the trustees regarding the motion and approval. Trustee Corker did make one comment to the effect that the BCSD Trustees are interested in being transparent with the public.
The motion stipulated several more terms regarding parity of negotiating numbers and Dr. GwenCarol Holmes being appointed to work out some sort of details, I believe. I did not fully catch those details, and, thus, did not include them in my post. I plan to watch the recording once it is posted on the BCSD website.
What I find interesting in all of this is that it is the trustees who instigated this negotiation process. In watching the April 19, 2016 Board webcast, it appears that Trustee Corker is primarily responsible for the idea to negotiate administrator employee contracts.
And my opinion? I’m surprised no one, neither the four trustees in attendance (Bennion, Bustos, Corker, and Freund) nor Dr. Holmes, suggested seeking legal counsel before making that decision in April. Also, that words have specific meanings within their context. When discussing legal contracts, the word “negotiate” has legal ramifications.
Sincerely,
Ellen Mandeville
From watching board meetings on this topic it was apparent that Liz did not mean enter into official teamster negotiations when she suggested they should negotiate with the admin on salaries and benefit packages. She was using the term “negotiate” more loosely and more generally. Do you know how they voted? Thanks!
As I said above in response to Barbara’s comment, words have specific meanings in their context. The context was discussing legally binding contracts as a Trustee of a School Board, the entity which has the legal power to create, change, and nullify said contracts.
All of the trustees still in attendance, Bennion, Bustos, and Corker, all voted, “Aye.”