Unofficial deal likely
to be ratified by both
sides in coming weeks
BY JOHN DUNPHY
Staff Writer
Sayreville teachers and staff are expected to soon have a contract as the result of an unofficial settlement reached last week with the Board of Education.
The tentative agreement, reached March 16, would give Sayreville Education Association members a 13.6-percent salary increase over a three-year period.
Since the borough’s teachers, secretaries, cafeteria employees, bus drivers and paraprofessionals have been working without a contract since June, the deal would be retroactive to include the current school year. The board and union had reached an impasse during negotiations last summer and entered a fact-finding phase this winter. Numerous demonstrations were staged by union members during the current school year.
“Although it took a long time to settle, we believe that both sides can walk away from the table saying that it is a ‘fair’ agreement,” according to a statement released by the Board of Education. “Faced with the demands imposed by ever-increasing enrollments and the restraints of state fiscal regulations, we think we did a good job of balancing the SEA’s requests with the taxpayers’ ability to fund them.”
A memorandum of agreement between the board and union gives SEA members a salary increase broken up into increments of 4.7, 4.6 and 4.3 percent over the life of the 2004-2007 contract. According to the board, the new salary guide brings Sayreville in line with the Middlesex County average of a 13.97-percent increase over three years, “making the district more competitive when trying to hire new teachers.”
A meeting on Feb. 23 attended by board officials, SEA leaders and a state-appointed arbitrator for the purposes of fact-finding was instead spent discussing salary and benefits packages, which SEA President Steve Gozora has previously stated had been the biggest stumbling blocks in negotiations.
A second fact-finding meeting was scheduled to take place the night of March 16, had a tentative contract agreement not been reached.
“The two major issues were health benefits and salaries,” said interim Superintendent of Schools Frank Alfano. “Once we hammered those two out, there really wasn’t anything else keeping us from settling.”
The new contract will also offer a course reimbursement increase from six to nine graduate credits for teachers looking to gain advanced degrees. Also, extra-curricular stipends will be increased by 4 percent.
In addition, the agreement also “preserves the employee’s current health benefits and prescription plan contributions, though freezing them at the 2004-2005 amounts for the duration of the contract.”
Since the expiration of the union’s previous contract, union members on several occasions assembled at board meetings or outside district schools, all wearing red to represent a show of unity. Some stated they would not provide additional services that are otherwise provided, such as coming in before or after school to meet with parents or assist students. They said they would instead stick to the language of the last contract until a settlement could be reached.
The SEA was expected to vote on ratifying the agreement Tuesday, but postponed the vote to allow members to further examine salary discrepancies. Gozora said, however, that the SEA’s vote would be taken prior to the board’s ratification vote, scheduled for April 12.
“Once we tweak this salary guide, hopefully everyone will be satisfied,” he said.
Although the agreement is still tentative, Gozora said he believes that once both parties have voted and the new contract is official, everything will finally return to normal.
“I think both sides can come out with a feeling of accomplishment,” he said. “[But] it’s not over until it’s ratified by both parties.”
When asked if he and other educators who have worked without a new contract for almost a year were relieved that the end was near, Gozora was hesitant to answer.
“Is there relief?” he asked. “Again, not until it is ratified by both parties.”