To the editor
When does it end? I am a Hillsborough High School teacher. During the school year that has just ended, I have had to perform many duties above and beyond the parameters of my job.
These have included picketing in the dark mornings of February and March, attending lengthy planning meetings, and numerous other activities aimed at affecting a fair contract with the Hillsborough Township Board of Education.
Our previous contract had expired, and we worked almost the entire school year without a contract. To everyone’s relief, both the Hillsborough Education Association and the Board of Education ratified a new contract in May.
For myself at the "top of the salary guide" this meant a two percent raise for the school year that has just ended. This is an amount that is retroactive to last September; however, I am told that I must wait until June 27 to receive my back pay. This is still OK with me.
You see, there is an option for those of us at the "top of the salary guide" called longevity pay. Every five years after the 19th year, we get an automatic $3,000 raise, in addition to, our regular raise, which, for me, has averaged 1.75 percent over the past four years.
So I cheerfully looked forward to this boost next September since it is then I begin my 35th year of teaching. This is the last "longevity" increase I will receive since they occur only at the beginning of the 20, 25, 30, and 35 years of teaching.
No wait, I am told by my superintendent’s office this is not being done correctly. You should be required to finish your 20, 25, 30, or 35 year in order to receive your longevity reward.
In fact, it has always been done this way. Those of you who can document your income at the beginning of the anniversary year are lucky because mistakes have been made which rewarded you one year early.
Again, I ask when does this end? It is distressing that since September of 1977 when I began teaching in Hillsborough, I have always perceived and never understood the somewhat adversarial relationship between the Board of Education and the Hillsborough Education Association.
Are we not on the same team? Are we not both trying to achieve the same goals? Are we not both working to give the students of Hillsborough Township the very best education available?
It is distressing to read the article in the paper about the search for our new superintendent in which Neil Hudes, a member of the Board of Education and chairman of the Personnel Committee, states "a couple thousand bucks is not a significant cost difference."
I am here to tell you that the $8,000 to $9,000 dollars of additional cost which represents and increase of 160 percent to 180 percent is significant! The extra amount being spent by the board in the superintendent’s search would fund three longevity raises for veteran teachers.
Again, I ask, when does this end? When does the board understand that they should stop telling us we are appreciated and valued and start acting as though we are?
It is distressing to read the June 19 Beacon article "Hillsborough teacher’s union cries foul," about a valued employee like Roz Johnson, whose indomitable spirit and caring presence graced Triangle School for many years, and who was denied medical benefits to which she was entitled.
We should be striving to reward the dedication of people like Roz Johnson! When does this end?
When do we get on the same page and work together to "leave no child behind" nor any adult? When do we stop wasting our valuable resources of time, energy, and money, and work together to make Hillsborough schools even better than they already are? When does this begin?
Corle Place