School District Stakes Out Negotiating Turf

The Mount Diablo Unified School District, which has been for years accused by some community members as being less than transparent, has posted on its website elements of its initial proposal to the Mount Diablo Education Association.

Some elements district lists for a 2013-16 collective bargaining agreement:

• Flexibility in pursuing either a one-year successor agreement or a three-year pact for 2013-16.
• An interest in negotiating the school calendar to achieve an earlier start to the school year.
• An interest in negotiating "the phasing in of a mutually agreed-to timetable (applicable to future retirees only)" to reduce reimbursable medical benefits coverage, cap the medical benefits coverage of retirees and their dependents and eliminate dental coverage for retirees.