ROBBINSVILLE: Teachers, school district reach tentative contract

By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
   ROBBINSVILLE — The Board of Education on Tuesday night unanimously approved a tentative three-year retroactive contract with its teachers union that will boost salaries 5 percent by the time the pact expires July 1, 2014.
   The Washington Township Education Association, which represents more than 300 teachers, secretaries, support staff, bus drivers and custodians, has been working without a contract since June 30, 2011.
   Two months ago, the WTEA rejected a state-appointed fact-finder’s recommendations because it did not contain any retroactive raises for 2011. The 18-month impasse was headed for the next step in the collective bargaining process with a state-appointed “super-conciliator” when an informal Jan. 14 meeting between the two sides, without mediators or state NJEA union officials, broke the logjam.
   ”I’m glad that we were able finally to come to this resolution without the need to go to super-conciliation,” said Thomas Halm Jr., the chairman of the Board of Education’s negotiations committee.
   The memorandum of agreement provides a retroactive 2.5 percent increase in salaries for 2012-13 and a 2.5 percent increase for 2013-14. There are no raises for 2011, but the WTEA instead will receive a lump sum of $260,000 to divide among union members who worked for the district during the 2011-12 school year. The 2011 stipend will not be added to base salaries and is nonpensionable.
   WTEA president Mike Johnson said no date had been set yet for the rank-and-file to vote on the contract because the salary guides that establish how much employees are paid at different points in the careers still have to be worked out.
   More than two dozen teachers wearing maroon union shirts attended the standing-room-only meeting and broke out into applause after the school board voted 7-0 to approve the tentative contract.
   Mr. Halm and the two other members of the school board’s negotiations committee, Carol Boyne and Matthew O’Grady, expressed their appreciation to the three WTEA leaders — Francine Mazzone, Debra Bella and Mr. Johnson — who reached out to them to try to resolve the impasse last week.
   ”The best part of this process was that meeting on Monday when we were actually able to sit across the table again and work with one another to resolve an issue that we, all of us, have known needed to be dealt with,” Mr. Halm said.
   ”It’s unfortunate that sometimes the process out-takes the intent of the parties, and I look forward to sitting back down with the union members again in November or December when we start this whole process all over again,” Mr. Halm said.