Many states and local school districts have encountered severe financial deficits and cannot continue to offer educational programs and extracurricular activities. This situation has also, in some cases, caused hardship for local taxpayers. Discuss ways to deal with this situation.

You are the human resources director for the Johnsonville School District and have been charged with leading the upcoming school board union negotiations. The former negotiations between union and management have not gone well. The union has taken a very aggressive and confrontational approach to negotiations. They have invested significant money and outside legal counsel and consultants in an attempt to gain the best contract they can.
The school board is under a lot of pressure to deal with the union and create a more cooperative relationship. In preparation for the upcoming negotiation the school board has requested that you prepare the following:
1. Develop a list of the top six or so bargaining issues that you want to pursue.
2. Create a list of six or so anticipated tactics that may be used against you, and develop countertactics for each of them.
3. Develop a list of several professional behaviors that you feel are conducive for collaborative negotiations.
4. Develop a list of six or more ground rules for undertaking the negotiation process.