To: Superintendents, Member School Districts (K-12)
From: Robert J. Henry, General Counsel
Subject: Disclosure of Financial Costs of Collective Bargaining
Memo No. 7–2001
Several provisions of law address a school district’s requirements to disclose the financial costs of collective bargaining agreements.
Disclosure to the Public
Government Code section 3547.5 provides as follows:
Before a public school employer enters into a written agreement with an exclusive representative covering matters within the scope of representation, the major provisions of the agreement, including, but not limited to, the costs that would be incurred by the public school employer under the agreement for the current and subsequent fiscal years, shall be disclosed at a public meeting of the public school employer in a format established for this purpose by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. (Emphasis added.)
Pursuant to the language emphasized above the State Department of Education (SDE) disseminated Management Advisories 92-01 and 95-03, copies of which are attached.
As explained by the SDE “the intent of the legislation is to ensure that members of the public are informed of the major provisions of a collective bargaining agreement before it becomes binding on the district.”
Although the format established by the SDE defers to the local districts on “the number of days the agreement should be made available to the public” the format does require the following:
1. The governing board must hold a public meeting the agenda of which must contain an information item allowing disclosure of the major provisions of the collective bargaining agreement, the costs and funding source(s) for the costs (see p. 2 of the 92-01 Advisory).
2. Prior to the board meeting at which the major provisions are “sunshined” a copy of the proposed agreement must be made available to public.
3. Prior to the board meeting a summary of the terms of the agreement must be made available to the board members.
NOTE: Management Advisory 92-01 addresses this matter in greater detail and should be reviewed as necessary to comply with Government Code section 3547.5.
County Superintendent
Education Code section 42142 provides as follows:
Within 45 days of adopting a collective bargaining agreement, the superintendent of the school district shall forward to the county superintendent of schools any revisions to the school district's current year budget that are necessary to fulfill the terms of that agreement. Any additional costs to the school district that may result from the terms of the collective bargaining agreement also shall be reflected in any interim fiscal reports or multiyear fiscal projections.
The format for this disclosure is set forth in Management Advisory 95-03.
In addition, Government Code section 3540.2 provides as follows
(a) A school district that has a qualified or negative certification pursuant to Section 42131 of the Education Code shall allow the county office of education in which the school district is located at least six working days to review and comment on any proposed agreement made between the exclusive representative and the public school employer, or designated representatives of the employer, pursuant to this chapter. The school district shall provide the county superintendent of schools with all information relevant to yield an understanding of the financial impact of that agreement.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop a format for use by the appropriate parties in generating the financial information required pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) The county superintendent of schools shall notify the school district publicly within those six days if, in his or her opinion, the agreement reviewed pursuant to subdivision (a) would endanger the fiscal well-being of the school district.
(d) A school district shall provide the county superintendent of schools, upon request, with all information relevant to provide an understanding of the financial impact of any final collective bargaining agreement reached pursuant to Section 3543.2.
Two regulations adopted by the State Board of Education also address this issue.
In the context of providing to the county superintendent “First Tier Review” of district budget information Section 15444(j) of Title 5 provides as follows:
School districts shall provide supplemental information as follows:
Analyze the status of employee salary and benefit negotiations. If salary and benefit negotiations are not finalized, upon settlement with certificated or classified staff, the school district must determine the cost of the settlement, including salaries, benefits, and any other agreements that change costs, and provide the county office of education with an analysis of the cost of the settlement and its impact on the operating budget. The governing board must certify to the validity of the analysis. The county superintendent shall review the analysis relative to the criteria and standards, and provide written comments to the president of the district governing board, and the district superintendent.
With respect to “First Tier Review” of district interim reports Section 15456(b)(4) provides as follows:
School districts shall also:
Identify the status of employee salary and benefit negotiations. If salary and benefit negotiations are not finalized, upon settlement with the certificated or classified staff, the school district must determine the cost of the settlement, including salaries, benefits and any other agreements that change costs, and provide the county office of education with an analysis of the cost of the settlement and its impact on the operating budget. The governing board must certify to the validity of the analysis. The county superintendent shall review the analysis relative to the criteria and standards, and provide written comments to the president of the governing board and the district superintendent.
Generously provided by: Robert J. Henry, general counsel, School and College Legal Services
