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| Attorney Michele Handzel (l) and research associate Andrew Cullen (r) join the Capital Region BOCES Labor Relations & Negotiations Service. | |
New hires will help schools negotiate with employee organizations
Capital Region BOCES has hired a well-known attorney and a statewide union data analyst, moves that will provide school districts unprecedented help when negotiating with employee unions.
Michele Handzel will join BOCES from the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS), where she served as general counsel since December 2008. Andrew Cullen comes to BOCES after working as a research associate for New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) for the last five years. Cullen started at BOCES in late May, while Handzel will be appointed at the June BOCES Board of Education meeting.
Both will work for BOCES’ Labor Relations & Negotiations Service, now in its second year, which helps school districts negotiate with employee organizations and administer contracts.
“Our Labor Relations & Negotiations Service has grown exponentially over the last year, and with Michele and Drew on board, the service will only be stronger and more effective,” District Superintendent Charles Dedrick said. “Michele has a phenomenal track record with NYSCOSS and her background in education law and negotiations will be invaluable. Drew’s research and data analysis background is going to be key to the service’s development of a first-of-its-kind collective bargaining database that will be critical in school districts’ negotiations.”
Handzel will join BOCES attorney Kevin Harren in the Labor Relations & Negotiations Service. During her time at NYSCOSS, Handzel negotiated employment contracts on behalf of many school superintendents statewide. She was an integral member of the Council’s advocacy team, and provided legal and litigation services for The Council’s members. Prior to her time at NYSCOSS, Handzel served as assistant general counsel for NYSARC and worked as an attorney for law firms in the Capital Region, including Girvin & Ferlazzo, P.C., where she worked in the labor division in support of school districts.
“I am excited about the opportunity to work with an educational leader like Dr. Charles Dedrick, and his skilled and well-respected staff that will allow me to continue working on complex labor and employment issues, in an education setting to support individual school districts in achieving their goals,” Handzel said. "I also look forward to providing an affordable service to superintendents and boards of education in these very difficult financial times that provides communities an opportunity to negotiate fair and equitable contracts.”
Cullen will help create a database of labor, expenditure and demographic information that will be used by three BOCES: Capital Region, Questar III BOCES and Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex (WSWHE) BOCES. The database is the first such tool in New York State and it will allow districts to easily access data about wages and benefits for districts around the region, which is invaluable during negotiations. While unions have long had access to such details, this is the first regional database for school districts.
While at NYSUT, Cullen worked with school budget and expenditure data, analyzed school finance and state aid issues and worked with school test score data. Prior to joining NYSUT, Cullen spent 19 years as a research coordinator at the New York State affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). In that position, he directed the association’s research efforts and was responsible for collecting and analyzing data and reviewing education research in support of policy initiatives. Cullen also worked with the national NEA to develop software programs to analyze school spending practices as well as salary and benefits data. He served for many years as president of the NEA’s Research Association for State Research Professionals. Cullen also previously served as a board of education member for the Newcomb Central School District.
“Negotiations go best when both sides are prepared with good data,” Cullen said. “Our goal is to strengthen data at the bargaining table for school districts.”
