Perhaps the DTU wants to hand pick the negotiators on the other side of the table. The next date the DTU will even meet is one week after the next Board of Education election.

Mary, I hope you don't think I'm connected with the DTU. I am a concerned parent with 16 years experience of having children in the district. My question is why someone with no skin in the game is negotiating the contract. Mr. Millar will not be around if/when problems arise with an outsourcing company. Leave the negotiating to someone who will be around to deal with potential issues that arise with outsourcing. I presume the DTU doesn't want to meet again until after the election knowing Mr. Millar will not be part of the negotiating team. Having dealt with him on another issue, I'd do the same if I were them.
By chance did you see the D211 correspondence about the benefits of keeping bussing in house? http://d211post.org/district-211-transportation-the-benefits-high-safety-standards-of-an-in-house-bus-fleet/ D211 can see the benefits and still stay within budget. Why can't D15?

Every taxpayer has skin in the game including Tim Millar. I have seen the D211 PR pieces over the years. They often tell us that D211 is wonderful about staying within budget and saving money. What is not known is if the original budget is overly generous in the first place. Many people in the community have implored the D211 board and administration to put various services out to bid to gain cost perspective and therefore avoid overly generous project and department budgets. They refuse to do so. At least in D15 we have seen the board insist and the administration complete more cost analysis.

"MYTH" The Board of Education wants to negotiate in good faith with the DTU.
"FACT" The Board of Education has called a special meeting with the DTU Negotiating Team on Monday, March 4 @ 8:30 am. This of course is at the time when all the bus drivers are still driving their routes, including the DTU Negotiation
Team

Does this really sound like the BOE is negotiating in good faith? Not only do they want to keep the community from knowing what is going on, they want to make sure that they have the upper hand with the Union Negotiators as well by scheduling a meeting that they know full well can't be attended by the people who need to be there the most.

If you go to the website www.district15drivers.org and read the District's laughable proposal, this will answer your question. The original contract was GUTTED which brings things back to pretty much square one which is where the Union was 3 years ago. Did the District and Board expect the Union to throw up it's hands and accept what they proposed (or in this case, didn't propose) on either the 1st or 2nd day of negotiations? If the District is negotiating in Good Faith, why send out Bid Proposals for the second time? You should also read the DTU President's response to the District's "Myths and Facts" letter to the community. That "Myth and Facts" letter has marginal validity if at all. More interesting reading can be found here: http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/Local-12-Investigation-Into-First-Student-Bus/7ks9PD8vPkiwgKTZPUEckw.cspx and if you like that one, read on....here's another one regarding Durham
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/08/bus_outsourcing_hiring_from_20.html " The board had been told outsourcing would cut yearly costs by about $775,000, but the switch is costing about $340,000 more a year, according to one estimate." This is a direct quote from the article. There are more stories on the District 15 Transportation face book page Mr Millar refers to these as "Scare Tactics" I think not. They are true, factual articles and videos. I urge everyone to be informed and know the truth.

My guess would be because they had two meeting last week when the board eliminated almost all of the current contract contents and to re-write a new contract would require impute from the union members as well as guidance from legal and union directors. If you have ever had to put together a a legal binding agreement where many parties are involved, it doesn't happen over night. Time is of the essence for the outgoing board members, not so much for the contractual deadline. If you look at the current contract at www.district15drivers.org see for yourself the blatant hack job. You will understand there is more than likely an underlying agenda.

actually Scott part of the delay is that Dist. 15's lawyer is on vacation.

Untill the Feb. 25 meeting the BOE had been telling the DTU it was all about the MONEY and the DTU was trying to work with the school board to control costs.
After the DTU was blind sided with a total scrapping of their current contract at the Feb. 25 meeting they asked for clarification and reasoning behind the destruction of the existing contract at the Feb. 27 meeting. the DTU and any BOE member that sought information were just cut off from speaking. The DTU needs time to regroup from this attack and respond with a thoughtful counter proposal. .
It appears all the parties involved have personal lives that need to be taken into consideration. All involved parties compared calendars at the Feb. 27 meeting and came up with the next available date in April.
NOW THE BOE IS BLAMING THE DTU FOR THE DELAY

"There must be things going on that we do not know about. I can speculate that perhaps the union leaders are saying one thing to their members and doing another when interacting with the Board and the Administration. I ask the public to be careful about judging the actions of some without knowing the actions of all involved."
Don't speculate unless you are at the negotiating table, and I can assure you that the members are well informed of every step of the process. I do agree with the last portion though...." I ask the public to be careful about judging the actions of some without knowing the actions of all involved."

It is easy to infer from reading the myths vs. facts that there is some type of disconnect between the union leaders/negotiators and their union members.

How can you be assured the members are well informed, unless you yourself are at the negotiating table?

Let's also keep in mind the District Administration and the Board have successfully negotiated 2 other union agreements recently - the CTC and the SEIU.

Vicki, that's great you have been afforded the opportunity to attend the Board and District meetings over the past 5 years, but, I don't think you are privy to the closed sessions. If you are, please enlighten us as we aren't informed of contract negotiations other than what the Board provides in Board press releases. How can you infer from what we are "given" that the shareholders are being told the truth from the Board? The Board tried to pull a fast one on us with the time change. They agreed to it so we must live with it, but, we don't have to live with the times the Board chooses. They finally relented and gave us a new survey (results unknown - must have gone against the Board.) I still haven't heard a good reason as to why Tim Millar, who is on his way out, is still leading the negotiations. BTW - why would you speculate the Union leaders are the only ones misinforming us?

Catherine - I am not interested in going back and forth with you anymore. I was trying to give you the perspective from someone who has chosen (we are all afforded the opportunity) to take the time to attend the meetings over the years. I have my perspective, based on researching facts, watching people in action over the years, and looking towards the motivation of those who spread misinformation. A Board Member position pays zero dollars.

Like you, I too have attended several Board and other district meetings over the past 9 years. I too, have seen Superintends and other Administrators as well as Board members come and go and I don't doubt that Mr. Thompson didn't have just cause in sending an email of this nature. We can sit and debate one's character as we all have our opinions. And mine is this....Mr. Thompson is a puppet! He was hired by this board so that they saw to it that he perform as they see fit. I can assure you Tim Millar and a few others in administration had their hands all over this FACT/MYTH email and Mr. Thompson had no choice but to sign off as a favor for his generous salary increase and extended contract. I find it inappropriate behavior to utilize the email address of the families in District 15 to be deceitful to them about a serious issue which the administration and board wishes to keep negotiations a secret but chooses to blast a message that hold absolutely no validity. This is our Districts leaders! They should be ashamed of themselves! I have watched time and time again this quiet man be manipulated by Tim Millar. The stares by Tim Millar at several meeting when Scott Thompson is addressing the attendees would suggests that he is the puppeteer. He has behaved in a disrespectful mannor to his fellow board members as well as the people of this district. He is a bully and a sorry excuse for a leader.

Transparency would be good. During the school start/end time fiasco with the Board, all I ever heard was the Board could not discuss with the public any negotiations with the teachers. WHY not? Who said it couldn't be discussed? Is it law, the teachers, the board? I don't know, they wouldn't say. I want more transparency with the Board/DTU negotiations this time.

Scott
Don't you mean publicly posting the BOE initial offer followed by the BOE
reduction in force letter (threat) prove the BOE is not negotiating IN GOOD FAITH while the DTU continues to pursue cost effective, safe and consistant transportation of all the students in CCSD15