Miami School District Paper

Miami School District Negotiation

The Miami School District has had an unexpected increase in enrollment which has caused the current school boundaries to be redrawn for the upcoming school year. Miami's school district's school board has hired experts to redraw the school boundaries for the coming school year. It is expected that many students will need to change schools due to relocation because of this redrawing. Parents have become outraged and have many objections to the plan because the quality of education will be at risk, students will need to travel further for their education, the plan could cross economic and cultural boundaries, affect property values and have social effects on children. This paper will include a plan to address stakeholder' concerns by determining exactly who are the stakeholders, what negotiation strategy should be used to support the school board's need to redraw the boundaries while addressing the concerns of the stakeholders and how ethics and culture will affect this decision.

Parental Objections

The Miami School District has caused the parents who have children enrolled in the schools to become dissatisfied because of the plans of redrawing the district's boundaries. The parents' main objection is that the quality of education that their children will receive will be lessened because of the relocation of the students. Parents are unfamiliar with the new schools that students are expected to attend and they do not have any information regarding the new schools and their educational standings. Additionally, parents would not like for their children to be farther away from their homes than necessary. The parents have many reasons to keep their children near such as older siblings helping with the younger, children will no longer be able to walk to school or home and the additional transportation costs associated with the travels. Parents are very concerned about property values and how this could cause their current property values to decrease or rise by crossing economical statuses. Parents are also opposing the decision to redraw school boundaries because of the possible social effects on their children. For example, some parents feel that crossing of the economical and cultural boundaries will cause a sort of imbalance which could possible lead the children towards a path that defies the parent's expectations. The possibilities are unknown and parents feel that this may not be worth taking risks. Parents are willing to hear the school district out but at the same time they wish for each of their concerns to be acknowledged and addressed to help them cope with the future plans of the school district and the redrawing of the boundaries.

Stakeholders Involved

The stakeholders involved in this negotiation are the school district, parents and the students because they all hold value in the decision to redraw the school districts plans. The school district has the responsibility to satisfy all of the stakeholders by offering a plan that meets the expectations of all involved. They possess the duty of encompassing all needs and offering a plan that will please all including them. It is important for the school district to decide which negotiation strategy will handle all issues because they are the stakeholders who have the responsibility of presenting the negotiation strategy. The school district must represent on all sides. What they must bring to the table is a proper representation of satisfaction for everyone. They must propose a plan that relieves the issues of the parents and students such as appropriate schools with highly trained educators and offer a valid source of transportation. If these were implemented then the school district must be prepared to spend an abundance of funds to make these happen. The students and parents are very upset with the school districts plans and would do anything to not let this plan take action. However, they do feel that if it must occur then the school district should offer some kind of compromise.

Negotiation Strategy

The negotiation strategy that the Miami School District must use is the strategy of problem solving. The parents are eager to hear what the school district will offer to satisfy their concerns