Negotiations/Mediation Update

The following message is from Melissa Brown and Karl McKenzie, JEA Negotiations Team:

 

Our negotiations update on August 29 was to share news about the Jordan School Board’s decision to postpone taking action on a new District Policy (GP115) which would govern how current policy changes and new policies would be initiated in the future.  We also updated you on the mediation process.  On Friday, August 31 the Negotiations Team worked with Ms. Ritter, the federal mediator, via teleconference for several hours in order to come to an agreeable compromise.  Ms. Ritter took the compromise back to the District’s representative, Blake Ostler, and is scheduled to have another teleconference with him tomorrow.  We hope to find the District agreeable to our counter proposal.

Under current policy, A6 NEG:  Negotiations, the mediation process is allowed 45 days to be completed.  The District Team concluded mediation on August 31 at 8:00 p.m. when they were unable to continue without polling the Board.  Therefore, the JEA Negotiations Team sent a written request to the Jordan School Board for an extension of the mediation timeline to the end of September.  We received a reply on September 4 from Board President Rick Bojak, granting an extension to the mediation process until noon on September 11.  This was surprising because the success of this mediation is currently in the District’s hands. JEA has notified the federal mediator of this shortened timeline and continues to wait for a response from the Jordan School Board following our last mediation communication on Friday, August 24. 

 

We will update you as new information becomes available.  Thank you for your overwhelmingly supportive messages and for your continued membership.