Abstract
Purpose of the Study. This study was to determine the differences in the outcomes of the negotiation process between small school districts in California which employ external negotiators as compared to those which use internal negotiators. Research questions addressed in the study were: cost of negotiation, consultation, preparation and negotiation at the bargaining table, teacher salary increase, class size, level of satisfaction with the contract and negotiators, number of strike and work slow-downs, number of grievances, unfair labor practices, impasses, and fact-finding, term of contract, re-openers, organizational security, number of items in the contract, continuation of negotiators and union representation at the bargaining table. Procedures. Questionnaires were sent to the superintendents of 292 school districts whose average daily attendance is under 1500. The Kolmogoroz-Smirnov Two-Group test and Chi-Square II Analysis were applied to ascertain whether there were significant differences between the two groups of schools. Findings. Seven of the nineteen null hypotheses were rejected at the .01 level of confidence. The study showed that districts using external negotiators spent more money, time in preparation and negotiating, had contracts extended over longer periods of time, re-openers in the contracts, had more contracts negotiated with external union representation at the bargaining table, and were more likely to have organizational security clauses in the contracts than the districts which used internal negotiators, however, there were no significant differences in the remaining variables. Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that a small school district employing an external negotiator will spend more money and yet not receive a more favorable collective bargaining agreement than one using an internal negotiator. If, however, there has been a history of teacher unrest and there is a clear need to bring a third party into the negotiations, the additional expense may be worthwhile. The study also indicates that the final agreements are not likely to be less favorable to the board.