Concord School District, Union Negotiations Going Smoothly

So far, so good.

That seems to be the process moving forward between the labor negotiating team and the school’s unions, according to , the school board’s liaison to the team.

During a meeting on Feb. 6, Glahn said both sides were going through the process of looking over proposals forwarded by each team. They started in the fall and each side has approved of some things, rejected other things, and modified even more, according to Glahn.

Right now, since a deal has not been struck yet, few details are available to the public. However, the discussions will continue, Glahn said, adding that although none of the school board members have been present during the discussions, things seem to be progressing smoothly.

“What we’ve heard back from our negotiating team is,” he said, “unlike what you might expect from what you read in the press in this country, about negotiations with unions, the discussions on both sides have been very professional, cordial, and while not done, we hope all of that continues and we’ll this process forward to a final resolution.”

The school systems’ negotiating team includes Assistant Superintendent Donna Palley, Larry Prince of human resources department, Business Manager , and , an attorney with .

New hires

In other Concord School Board information, the board approved the hiring of Bryant Lausberg as the new health/physical education teacher at , Peter Barraud, a special education teacher for the , and Colleen Lehman, a new kindergarten teacher at . Lehman also teaches part-time at the Dame Elementary School. Shannon Manseau was also hired as an alpine skiing supplemental coach at Concord High School.