Dearborn School Board Ratifies Contracts, Interviews Legal Firms

Union contracts and legal services dominated the discussion at Monday night’s Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education study session.

Three contracts–the most notable being with the 63-member Association of Dearborn School Administrators–were ratified by the board after minimal discussion.

School Board President James Schoolmaster congratulated union members and the district’s negotiating team for working hard to .

“These agreements are what is best for children,” he said.

The ADSA–which is made up of chief administrators at each of Dearborn’s schools–voted in favor of the contract Thursday night. The three-year contract requires administrators to accept an 8.1 percent paycut, but restores some step increases to union members. The union will be required to contribute more to their own health care costs, and explore additional health care options with the goal of lowering the cost for the district.

The other agreements reached include a tentative agreement with the Dearborn Schools Operating Engineers Association and the Dearborn Federation of Teachers Local 681 AFT Adult Education Teachers.

The adult education teachers labor agreement expired on June 30, 2011. The contract approved Monday night is a one-year extension of the prior contract, with no pay increases.

Adult education teachers will earn between $17-31.50 per hour, and there are 10 pay steps under the contract.

The DSOEA represents building engineers. There was no information about the contract provided to the public Monday night.

Legal Interviews

Four law firms were interviewed Monday night by school board members out of about 10 which sought to represent the district in lawsuits, labor negotiations, financial matters and other sometimes-thorny legal matters.

The half-hour interviews focused on the firms’ experience in school and municipal laws as well as their ability to save money on legal fees for the schools.

Superintendent Brian Whiston said the board determined to seek bids for legal work to see what kinds of services are available.

“We’ve had the same firm for eight years. There was no performance issue, but bidding out work is something you should do every three to five years,” he said. “We’re going to be bidding other services out as well.”

The firms that participated in the interviews include the schools’ current legal counsel, Beier Howlett in Bloomfield Hills; Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton in Troy; Keller Thoma in Detroit; and Allen Brothers in Detroit.

After the interviews, Trustee Aimee Blackburn said all of the firms met the requirements the district has for legal services.

“I was very impressed with the firms,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a difficult decision.”

The board elected to put off a decision until Trustee Joeseph Guido, who was absent from the meeting, has a chance to review the proposals. The
board will likely make a decision at its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 12.