Collective negotiations and the principalship

Administrator Protections in Negotiated Contracts

“…In the past principals have stood by helplessly as new relationships between labor and management were shaped at the bargaining table without them. For example, instead of incorporating principals' viewpoints, one result of teacher collective bargaining has been the tendency to centralize decision making in the district office (Cunningham, 1968). Central office administrators cite the difficulty in getting information, the rapidity in which they need to respond, and the prin- On the other hand, it is not uncommon for teacher organizations to persist in demanding: an equal voice in the selection of school principals; that no policy of the board can be changed without negotiations; that all matters of curriculum be negotiated; and a frequent recommendation from the union is to generate additional funds for teachers' salaries by cutting administrative and noncertified staffs.…”