Negotiations 101

Our negotiations team prepares for negotiations all year in order to bring you the best tentative agreement they can. The job is ongoing and demands a lot of the team members. HEA is grateful for those members who volunteer to serve on the team. Although the team is made up of HEA members, we represent ALL members of the bargaining unit (everyone who works under the Negotiated Agreement). 

In years past we've seen plenty of misconceptions on the negotiations process and quite a few upset members at the end of the process. We don't think this information is going to alleviate all of your concerns, but we hope that it will help you to make a more informed decision on the tentative agreement when it finally goes for a vote.

Even if you are a veteran teacher, there is probably something here for you to learn as well.


Important Dates

STATE MANDATED / PERMISSIVE NEGOTIATION TOPICS

According to Kansas Statutes, there are a set amount of topics that are required for negotiation. Even though the negotiation process can open the door for more topics to be considered, the only ones that the district are required to negotiate are on the following chart.

There are some topics that the state says that can be negotiated, but each party is limited to only three choices from the following orange list.

Lastly, as long as both parties agree to them, other topics can be added for negotiations as long as they abide by K.S.A. 72-5413(I)(1). Section C is shown in yellow below. This language makes it possible for ANYTHING to be under negotiation as long as both parties agree that it falls under "properly related to professional service."