JACKSON — The Board of Education and the Jackson Education Association, which represents teachers and affiliated school district employees, have reached a tentative contract settlement without the assistance of the state mediator both sides had requested, according to school district spokeswoman Allison Erwin.
Erwin said neither side would offer a detailed statement on the settlement until the contract is finalized. Both sides have signed a Memorandum of Agreement, which is a prerequisite to a formal contract agreement. Erwin said she did not know when union members would vote on it.
"Mrs. (Delores) Harvey (the JEA president) said that she did not know when a vote would be put to union members on the new contract," the spokeswoman said.
The negotiations stalemate became a public issue in recent months when some JEA members addressed the issue at board meetings. Salary increases were said to be an issue in the negotiations.
However, during those same meetings, Harvey and board Vice President Ted Koch, who was the board’s chief negotiator, hinted that the stalemate was the result of other union demands.
By Sept. 19 it was announced that negotiations had come to a standstill. Both the board and the union requested that the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission assign a mediator to help resolve the matter.
"They asked for help and waited for a state mediator to be assigned," Erwin said. "(However,) they decided to continue discussions and finally reached a tentative agreement."