says raises will be
3.25, 4 and 4.4%
Union, school board close
to settling on 3-year deal
Howell board rep
says raises will be
3.25, 4 and 4.4%
By kathy baratta
Staff Writer
The Howell Board of Edu-cation and the Howell Township Education Asso-ciation (HTEA) are "close to settling" on a new contract, according to Valerie Rosenberg, chairwoman of the board’s labor committee.
Rosenberg said the board has a memorandum of understanding dated Oct. 16 from the HTEA, which has approximately 930 members and is comprised of all district employees except for central office personnel.
"We are close to settling with a fair settlement all around," Rosen-berg said, adding that there had been no so-called sticking points involved in the negotiations.
According to Rosenberg, teacher salary increases agreed to under the terms of the new contract are retroactive to July. She said that according to the terms of the contract, HTEA members will receive a 3.25 percent salary increase in the first year of the contract; a 4 percent increase in the second year of the deal; and a 4.4 percent increase in the third year of the contract.
Rosenberg said the school district will be instituting a long-term insurance care program available to all employees covered by contract or an employee benefits program. The insurance will be available without an employee co-pay, she said.
Rosenberg said the HTEA, "recognizing that these are tough times everywhere, not just in Howell," voted to accept paying a higher deductible for medical prescriptions.
She declined to disclose details regarding the deductibles.
Regarding the negotiations that took place between the board and the union prior to the settlement agreement, she said, "Considering what I’ve read in the papers regarding other districts, I’d have to say it was very amicable. Everyone responded well to the needs of the board, realizing the district is building three new schools. We heard their needs and came up with something beneficial to everyone."
The participants involved in the direct negotiations along with Rosenberg were school board members Louis Corato and Marcie Nowicki, and HTEA vice presidents Jon Height and Heather Van Vliet and teacher Mark Magliozzi.