Miami School District Negotiation Paper
Janice Horton
MGT/445
September 3, 2012
Natalie Roll
Introduction
For the upcoming year, Miami School District has announced that they will be changing the school boundaries due to the increases in enrollment that was unexpected. The school plans on coming up with a solution that will even out the classrooms and rezone some school district areas. Parents acknowledge their concern with the rezoning boundaries because that will mean their children may have to go to another school. They took their concerns to the school board and the school board told them that they will come up with a plan and decide on a negotiation strategy ...view middle of the document...
The goals of the stakeholders are not equally limited and by this affect, everyone can bring more benefits to the table, which is why integrative strategy is the best solution (Barry, Lewicki, & Saunders, 2006). The school district has to create issue “packages” claiming an equal benefit for the students and school district. An analysis of parent concerns must be formed and the school district must decide how to appropriately address these concerns.
The negotiation strategy will be to reassure parents that the goal of the school district is to do what’s best for the students and that the reasoning behind redrawing boundaries is to reduce class size. The school district must be able to show that if class sizes are not evened out, students will ultimately suffer and additional consequences will occur. The goal of the Miami school district is to provide quality education and develop long standing relationships with the parents. The school district will have to take a bilateral approach to the negotiation by having the parents involved (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2006). The school district must make it clear to the parents that the reason behind the rezoning decision is to maintain a quality school life for the students, without overcrowding the classrooms.
Quality of Education
Quality of education is a great concern among parents. Parents are concerned that the quality of education will change for the students if they have to attend a different school. By redrawing the school district boundaries, students will be removed from their current teachers and classmates and placed in the uncomfortable position of adjusting to new ones. The school district must assure both parents and students that educational goals will not be affected by the new boundaries. School officials should explain that the state currently has sanctions that require teachers be certified through the State of Florida to teach in a specific field. Additionally, all employees must undergo a background check before being hired.
Increased Travel Time
With the new rezoning plan, some students will have a longer commute to school. Parents are concerned about the time because that means they will have to get up earlier to drop their children off to school so they can be at work on time, the ones who ride the bus may have to wait outside earlier, and this may cause the children to be in class a little longer. Parents may also have to adjust their work schedules to accommodate these new changes. The Miami-Dade County School District did a study and discovered that longer school days will not have any effect on the students’ ability to learn (Anonymous, 2009). If the new zoning plan does not get approved, students face the risk of attempting to learn in crowded classrooms and not receive adequate time with teachers. The school board needs to reassure parents that the extra commute will be worth the quality of education and social differences that the students may experience.
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