THE BUILDING ADMINISTRATOR - THE FORGOTTEN PERSON IN THE CONTRACT PROCESS

Collective bargaining is a major force in education today. However, su pport for the building principal lags far behind progress in other asp ects of bargaining. In the three phases of the bargaining process-nego tiating the contract, administering the contract, and resolving grieva nces-the building principal remains at a serious disadvantage with tea cher associations. Administrators as a group need to develop a managem ent team concept that involves building principals at each step of the contract process and presents a united front to the teachers' associa tion. This article explores the weaknesses of the current contract pro cess for building principals and presents a management team concept as a positive solution. The proposed concept presents a new bargaining p hilosophy for all district administrators, including members of the sc hool board.