HOLMDEL – The Holmdel Township Schools Board of Education has unanimously approved a new contract with the Holmdel Township Education Association (HTEA).
The HTEA represents teachers, secretaries, buildings and grounds personnel, instructional support personnel, nurses’ assistants and bus drivers in the 3,000-pupil K-12 district.
The new contract is retroactive to the start of the 2019-20 school year and also covers the current 2020-21 academic year, according to a press release issued by the school district. The two-year contract will expire on June 30, 2021.
Under the new agreement, teachers will receive a 2.95% raise for the first year of the contract, retroactive to the 2019-20 school year, and a 2.7% raise for the second year of the contract (2020-21), according to the press release.
Responding to a question from the Independent, district administrators confirmed that the percentage increases cited in the press release (2.95% and 2.7%) are the overall percentages by which the total salary pool is increasing.
Staff members who are on a salary guide, such as teachers, will not receive the average increase cited in the district’s press release, but will receive a different increase amount depending on where they are on the salary guide, district administrators told the Independent.
According to the press release, the school board members sought a shorter contract length than usual because they wanted to better gauge the impact of new state legislation that will potentially reduce employees’ contribution to health premiums based upon which plan a teacher chooses to elect.
“The Holmdel Township Education Association always strives to reach an equitable contract
settlement for all involved and we are happy to come to a settlement during this challenging time in history,” HTEA President Denise King was quoted as saying in the press release.
“In this challenging time for school districts throughout the state, I am pleased we have found the right balance between supporting excellence in our classrooms and staying fiscally responsive for our local taxpayers,” school board President Vicky Flynn was quoted as saying.