Miami School District 1

Running head: MIAMI SCHOOL DISTRICT NEGOTIATION PAPER

Miami School District Negotiation Paper

Connie A. McLaren

University of Phoenix
 Miami School District Negotiation Paper

The Miami school district has had an unexpected increase in enrollment. This

unexpected increase has forced them to re-evaluate the upcoming year’s school boundaries. The

Miami school district has hired experts to redraw the school boundaries. The new plan means

that many students will not be able to remain in their present schools. Parents are upset by this

and have voiced their concerns and objections to the proposed plan. The Miami school board will

have to educate the parents about the need for the new boundaries and the consequences if the

new boundaries are not established. The forthcoming paragraphs will evaluate the parents

concerns and ways the board plans to address the various concerns and issues.

Quality of Education

Parents are concerned that the quality of their children’s education will be compromised

by the new plan. Parents argue that their children are established in their current schools, with

their current classmates, and moving them will be disruptive to their learning. Many parents have

chosen the schools their children are currently attending, and purposely purchased homes in the

area because they wanted their children to attend the schools in the area. Parents are concerned

that the faculty in the other schools may not be as good or as qualified as the current schools.

Parents of high school aged children entering their senior years are upset that the students will

have to change schools during their senior year possibly affecting scholarships and the academic

grade point averages of the students. Additionally, the students will not be able to graduate with

many of their friends they have gone through high school with.

Increased Travel Time

Parents are concerned about the added travel time their children will endure due to

attending the new schools. Parents whose children normally walked to and from school will ride
buses to and from school each day. Parents are upset and believe the new boundaries

compromise their children’s safety. High school students will be driving further, adding to their

chances of being involved in car accidents, and increasing car insurance rates.

Crossing Economic and Cultural Boundaries

Parents are concerned about their children attending schools with less fortunate children,

in a neighboring area. Parents selected the area they are residing in for many reasons, of which

included the economic and cultural diversity of the area. Parents do not believe the board has the

right to force their children to attend the schools in the neighborhood less fortunate than the one

they reside in. Parent’s fear inferior or prejudiced treatment towards their children, and that the

students will not receive the quality of education they currently obtain. The parent’s believe the

schools will not have the same resources as the schools in the current neighborhood. Parents are

also concerned that the influence of gang and drug activity will be higher in the new schools and

their children will be peer pressured into becoming involved in these inappropriate behaviors.

Effect on Property Values

The new school boundaries could also have an adverse effect on property value in the

neighborhood. The homes are upper-middle-class, with part of their value based on the quality of

schools in the area. Potential buyers will be less likely to purchase a home in the area, because,

of the risk of their children not being able to attend the schools in the neighborhood. A drop in

people interested in buying in the area will lower property values since the general population in

the area are young families raising children. Purchasing a home for young families includes

purchasing that home in a quality school district. Potential buyers may begin to look for homes

elsewhere.

Social Affects on Children

 Parents are concerned of the socially adverse affects on their children due to the new

school boundaries. The neighboring schools are located in areas that are not as affluent as those

in the current neighborhood are. Neighboring schools have higher instances of truancy,

behavioral issues, lower average grades, and more gang type behaviors. Parents are fearful, if

their children must move into these schools of what the negative influences will be and what

impact they will have on their children and families.

School Board Develops a Plan

The Miami district school board has received numerous letters and phone calls

concerning the new school boundaries. The complaints have been so many, that the board knows

they cannot move forward until the board addresses the issues with the stakeholders. The board

must be prepared and do their research on the issues, prior to meeting with the stakeholders.

Stakeholders

The Miami school board needs to understand who the stakeholders are in the issue

concerning new school boundaries. Stakeholders are “a person or group that has an investment,

share, or interest in something” (“Stakeholder“, n.d., p. 1). The stakeholders involved in the new

school boundaries are the faculty of the schools, members of the board, students, parents, and

bus drivers. Stakeholders could also include employees or owners of after-school programs,

daycares, local businesses, and anyone else affected by the new school boundaries, and the effect

they could have on the community. Stakeholders could include local realtors, as the homes in the

area might not sale as quickly or for as much as they potentially could have, before the new

boundaries were established.

 Negotiation Strategy for Board Members

The Miami district school board should attempt to use the collaborative strategy as much

as is feasible. The stakeholders all have valid concerns and complaints that the board must hear,

examine, and are prepared to re-evaluate the boundaries, if necessary. The community

stakeholders in return much listen to the board explain their needs to establish new boundaries.

Parents are concerned the quality of education and learning their students will receive in the new

schools will decline. The board might consider moving some of the teachers to the new schools

to help alleviate some of the concerns the parents have. Parents are concerned their children are

going to have to travel too far to their new schools, putting them at higher risks for accidents.

The Miami school board will need to explain to the parents that the new boundaries will be set in

such a manner that will keep travel to a minimum for students.

A large concern for parents is the fact that many of the schools that their children will be

attending are in a neighborhood, which is lower class than the one they live in. Parent’s are

fearful their children will be in danger of gang activity, be ridiculed because of their stature, and

be subject to peer pressure from the rougher students toward inappropriate behaviors. The Miami

school board might combat these concerns with added security at the schools, more stringent

procedures, and punishments for students involved in wrongful doings. In addition, the board

should come prepared to defend the schools in question, with statistics that prove the parents

fears invalid.

Ultimately, the board must make choices and decisions based on what the federal

guidelines outline for schools. The current schools have become overcrowded. Overcrowded

classrooms make for disruptive learning and in turn falling grades. Overcrowded schools tend to

have higher rates of gang type behaviors, such as fighting and drug use. If the school board does
not redefine school boundaries, the quality of education in these schools will decline resulting in

schools undesirable to parents and in turn will drive down property values and such even more so

than the new school boundaries will. The board must explain these types of issues to the parents

in a manner they will understand and respect.

If the board approaches the stakeholders in a manner that appears negotiable,

understanding, and problem solving in nature, the stakeholders will be more receptive to the

boards arguments and need for the new school boundaries. The stakeholders are not going to

come to the table with negotiations in mind, they will approach with demands, and reasons why

they feel the boundaries are a bad idea. It will be up to the board to win the stakeholders over in a

manner that is calm and informative.

Ethics or Culture

The decisions for the negotiation strategy had nothing to do with culture. The strategy is

based on ethics, and what is right for the community, students, and school district. Not changing

the boundaries would ultimately be more disruptive for the schools, students, and neighborhood

than redefining the boundaries will be. The initial shock and implementation of the new

boundaries will have some rough issues that will have to be ironed out and dealt with as they

occur; however, the long-term gains will be worth it in the end.

Conclusion

Change is never easy to implement or participate in. People do not like change and will

fight it any chance they get. Understanding why the stakeholders do not like the changes

(Roberts & Hofstetter, n.d.) will be valuable to the board members. Communicating to the
stakeholders in an effective and clear manner will help the stakeholders more effectively

understand the need for the new boundaries.

 References

Roberts, D., & Hofstetter, W. (n.d.). Why People Don’t Change. Retrieved Apriil 17, 2010, from

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Hofstatter2.html&adt=0

Stakeholder. (n.d.). In Fact Monster. Retrieved April 18, 2010, from

http://dictionary.factmonster.com/stakeholder