Monday night the Board of Education will meet with city officials to discuss upcoming contract negotiations with the teacher’s union. [Board of Education Agenda, 9/26/2013]

The Bridgeport Education Association’s (BEA) three-year contract with the district will expire in 2014, and negations are due to begin sometime this fall. Last time around, the teacher‘s union agreed to freeze salary increases in the first year. Salaries increased 1.95 percent in the second year, and this year, salaries went up 2.79 percent. [Board of Education/ Bridgeport Education Association, 12/21/2010]

The board is required by state statute to meet with city fiscal officials before negotiating with the teacher’s union. These meetings are usually held in executive session behind closed doors; however, a two-thirds majority vote is required to go into executive session. During last year’s special board meeting on Superintendent Vallas’ contract, the Working Families Party and aligned board members blocked the motion to go into executive session and the meeting was conducted publicly. [Connecticut General Statutes, Sec. 10.153d, Teachers and Superintendents]

So, here’s a question: will the WFP block tonight’s meeting from going into executive session?

And since they insisted Vallas’ contract be discussed in public, will they also negotiate with the union in public?

Stay tuned…

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