1/14/14 - After more than nine months of work and negotiations, the Howell board of education expects to have a contract for the district's teachers' union by this time next week. The district has been struggling to get a contract approved since a staff-recommended agreement was shot down by a minority of the board in March of 2013. Without a unified direction from board members, negotiations with the Howell Education Association were suspended in the summer. They were reopened in October after bringing on Tom White as the district's lead negotiator. Last night, without White's presence, the school board went into closed session for more than an hour and a half to discuss contract negotiations. When they returned, Board President Mike Witt announced that he expected a new contract to be finalized by early next week. The district has a negotiating session with the Howell Education Association today, and Witt says the exact details will be finalized in the agreement. A special meeting of the board has been tentatively scheduled for Monday night with the ratification of the new two-year contract as the only action item. (TD)
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