EW teachers ratify contract

By: Dick Brinster
   East Windsor Regional teachers this week overwhelmingly ratified the district’s contract offer, said to include 4.75 percent annual salary hikes, leaving completion of the deal in the hands of the Board of Education, which is expected to act next week.
   "The negotiations team of the East Windsor Education Association is extremely pleased with the overwhelming majority vote of 348-15 in favor of the new contract proposal," union chief Jan Amenhauser said in a statement Wednesday.
   Neither Ms. Amenhauser member nor Bob Laverty, the school board’s chief negotiator, would discuss details of the contract, but they acknowledged that financial terms resulted in extended negotiations.
   "Our members have been very patient as we worked since September to finalize some issues concerning the salary guides," Ms. Amenhauser said. "We were certainly happy to hear that many of our members were very satisfied with the results of all of our hard work."
   Sources close to both sides have said the contract proposal, ratified Tuesday, is for three years. The annual 4.75 increase would put the starting salary for a first-year teacher at about $44,600 and the top salary at about $77,600.
   Sources said the agreement was delayed for several weeks while teachers sought an increase from an original offer of 4.65 percent. The salary-guide issue was resolved earlier this month, and the agreement submitted to EWEA members was finalized Nov. 13.
   The board is expected to vote on the deal at its meeting Monday night.
   "We are recommending approval of the contract and the salary guide to the board," Mr. Laverty said Wednesday.
   Teachers have been without a contract since the expiration of a three-year deal on June 30, eight days after they reached an agreement in principle with the board.
   Mr. Laverty said teachers have played a major role in progress over the last two-plus years, when the district’s student failure rate on state aptitude tests fell from 40 percent to 10 percent.
   "I think the settlement sends a strong message to the teachers that they have our approval for their performance in the classroom," he said. "That’s evidenced by the improving test scores.
   "This contract comes at a real turning point for the school district because we want to maintain this momentum and we want to build the strongest district possible."
   There would be a change in medical and dental insurance coverage in the new deal, sources have said. Last summer, sources said the medical deductible would be raised as would the co-pay, which under the current deal is $10 for generic drugs and $15 for name-brand pharmaceuticals
   But teachers would not be asked to contribute from their paychecks, sources said at the time. The policy of no contributions by the teachers, which board members say is the industry standard, drew criticism from some taxpayers at public forums in May on the defeated $79.2 million school budget.
   The governing bodies of East Windsor and Hightstown later shaved nearly a half-million dollars from that spending measure. A year earlier, they pared $1 million from a defeated budget.