Parents question board about impasse

Board-teacher contract negotiations stalemated

Union wants to open ‘crisis headquarters’
By:Eric Schwarz
   Two parents attended Tuesday’s school board meeting to learn about the contract negotiations.
   Melissa Hughes, the mother of a boy and a girl in Weston School, said she plans to ask the board at its next meeting, Dec. 19, about progress in the negotiations.
   Ms. Hughes of Louise Drive said she is concerned the contract negotiations have not been completed after almost six months after the previous contract ended.

   Referring to a recent meeting where a business consultant said Manville needs to establish an image, she said, "If I were a parent (considering moving to Manville), I would look at the schools."
   She said if the district does not offer competitive salaries, "we start losing good teachers."
   One of the chief points of contention between the union and the school board is extra compensation for extending the school day to what the board says is the state average.
   But the union also contends that the district’s teacher salaries are $10,000 below the average in Somerset County.
   The other parent who attended Tuesday night’s board meeting, Stacy Forke, has a boy in second grade at Weston. She said she was attending the meeting as "homework" to keep abreast of the negotiations.
   "The kids haven’t suffered, at least at Weston," said Ms. Forke of North Eighth Avenue.
   Her friend Ms. Hughes said, "These teachers go above and beyond. They give the kids help when held is needed."