ABSTRACT
Collective negotiations in public education provide a mechanism for bilateral decision-making by teacher organizations and boards of education. Determination of the substantive terms and conditions of employment is an area of frequent dispute within the framework of collective negotiations. Negotiation disputes in the private sector have traditionally been decided by the economic pressures of the marketplace. Impasse settlement in the public sector is critical, for unlimited strikes of public employees are illegal in all jurisdictions. Increased information on fact finding becomes even more important as more and more states and other levels of government adopt the fact finding model in their public employment relations legislation. The fact finder in teacher organization-school board disputes should have some knowledge of the operation of the public schools, school finance, school law, and professional staff-administrative relationships. Such an approach would lead to recommendations that are equitable, legal, educationally sound, and persuasive to persons of reason.
