Contract agreement comes after 17-hour bargaining session
By Lea Kahn
A 17-hour marathon bargaining session has netted a tentative contract agreement between the Lawrence Township Education Association and the Board of Education.
Representatives of the teachers union and the school board began the negotiating session at 3 p.m. Thursday and reached the tentative settlement around 8 a.m. Friday, according to school district officials.
Specifics of the contract were not available Friday. An agreement still needs to be worked out regarding the salary guide, school district officials said.
After the salary guide has been mutually agreed upon, the LTEA must vote to ratify the three-year contract. Then the agreement will be sent to the school board for its approval.
LTEA President Barbara Levine said the negotiations process was carried out with professionalism, openness and a “genuine desire to bring about a fair and equitable agreement.”
School board President Laura Waters agreed and said both sides “operated with good will throughout the process.” It is evidence that the people of Lawrence work together for the benefit of the schools and the children, she said.
The LTEA had been working without a contract since June 30. The 559-member union represents teachers, instructional assistants, school building secretaries, custodians and maintenance workers.