Multi-year employee contracts can substantially reduce the time and energy that goes into negotiations. In this transcript, panelists from the Strongsville (Ohio) city schools discuss their recent 5-year settlement with their non-teaching (classified) employees. Each panelist is introduced, and then the first, James Marietta, provides an overview of the Strongsville district and discusses previous 2- and 3-year contracts with classified and with teaching staffs. He then describes the role of the board of education in the negotiating process, including setting of parameters for negotiation, relations with the superintendent, and adherence to procedure. Thereafter, John A. Brown provides suggestions on how to negotiate a multi-year agreement. These cover pre-planning, board administrator consensus, organization, and credibility. John Jackson follows, discussing the wage settlement and explaining how to compute a fair annual cost of living adjustment. Patrick McMahon concludes with a discussion of the role of the financial planner. (TE)