It is not unusual for negotiations between ACE, the Assn. of Classified Employees, and the School District to continue this late into the school year.
There have been years when negotiations have been carried into the next year when no settlement was reached by June 30. In fact, this year we are addressing a few issues that didn't get resolved last year in addition to the openers for 2011/2012.
Our negotiations are not tied to the negotiations with the Teachers Union. We often start at different times in the school year, which depends on when our proposals are presented to the District to be sunshined. The law requires that proposals be submitted to the Board for perusal and then advertised in the local newspapers for two weeks to give the public an opportunity to view what we have proposed.
The certificated and classified units often have different concerns that are being addressed during the process, but the process is methodical in both cases.
It often takes the entire school year considering that we average a meeting once a month. There was nothing unusual about this year's process. We were just addressing several different issues.
Ms. Hamme, longtime President of ACE, may be contacted at antiquer01@aol.com
