Madison School Board & Employee Handbook

Madison Teachers', Inc. 46K PDF, via a kind Jeanie Bettner email:

Not only did Governor Walker's Act 10 strip from the Madison Metropolitan School District the ability to engage in collective bargaining regarding wages, benefits and working conditions, but it gave full authority to the Board to unilaterally create a "replacement document", the Employee Handbook.

At last week's Board of Education meeting, MTI Executive Director John Matthews delivered a letter to the Board in which, after acknowledging the negative impact of Act 10, he told the Board that Act 10 DID NOT take away the Board's ability to engage in conversation with representatives of MTI about the subjects to which the parties had previously agreed in bargaining, as well as any other topics. Board President James Howard called Matthews to tell him that the Board's process is still being developed and offered to meet with Matthews after the Board next meets about the Handbook.

MTI has developed a process for Handbook development for which MTI has asked to present that to the Board of Education. MTI's proposed process includes a recommendation that those elected by the members of MTI's various bargaining units be appointed to the BOE's Handbook Committee. This will assure both elected representation and input from all employee groups.
Matthews told Board of Education members about the discussions he and representatives of the AFSCME, Firefighters and Police Unions have been having with Mayor Soglin, County Executive Parisi and Supt. Nerad about the need to maintain positive employment relations, particularly relative to the development of the Handbook. Unfortunately, this effort at creating goodwill hit a bump in the road by former Supt. Nerad's failure to inform Interim Supt. Belmore. Working together to solve issues is the Madison way.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 10, 2012 3:22 PM
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