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PGCPS board hears legal, union arguments over open bargaining after PERB rule
Summary
Prince George's County educators and union leaders urged the Board to continue open bargaining for teacher contract talks; district legal counsel said a May 2024 PERB regulation requires closed sessions, setting up a legal standoff that the board discussed but did not resolve.
The Prince George's County Board of Education spent substantial time on Jan. 16, 2025, weighing whether collective bargaining with the Prince George's County Educators Association should remain open to the public or be conducted behind closed doors under a Public Employee Relations Board rule.
The issue drew multiple public speakers, a presentation from the union and its counsel, and a legal response from school system attorneys. Doctor Donna Christie, president of the Prince George's County Educators Association, told the board that “transparency is not a luxury, it's a necessity” and described open bargaining as a practice that builds trust and prevents misconceptions about contract talks.
Christie said open bargaining and “bargaining for the common good” have yielded two agreements in the district since 2019 and “delivered real benefits, like improved working conditions, safer environments, and better supports for students.” She said thousands of petition signatures gathered by the union show community support for continuing the practice.
The board also heard from Ayesha Braveboy, the Prince George's County state's attorney, who read a letter urging “maximized transparency” and said bargaining outcomes should be a “road map to success” for the school system and its taxpayers.
PGCPS General Counsel Darnell Henderson told the board the administration believes regulations enacted May 2024 by the Maryland Public Employee Relations Board (PERB), codified in COMAR 14.30.1301, require negotiations to be conducted in closed session. Henderson warned of “an unquantifiable liability” if the district were to ignore the regulation and hold negotiations in public before the regulation is clarified or overturned.
Damon Feldman, an attorney representing the union, disagreed with that legal reading, calling the PERB rule “not law” and saying his view—and the union's—is that the regulation oversteps PERB's authority and will be overturned when fully reviewed.
Board members pressed both sides for legal clarity. Board member Felton Moss asked Henderson to explain the consequences of violating COMAR and whether PERB had exceeded its statutory authority; Henderson said the question of overreach must be resolved by the agency or in court and cautioned the board against advising the district to flout the regulation. Feldman countered that the union needs to begin bargaining in the open now to start negotiations.
No formal policy change or vote on bargaining format was taken at the meeting. The board received the briefings and public testimony and reserved further action pending legal developments.
Ending: The board did not adopt a new policy at the Jan. 16 meeting. Both PGCPS legal counsel and PGCEA counsel said they expect further legal work—PERB review or litigation—before the parties adopt a final approach to the format of negotiations.
