Exchange between school board, REA is troubling
To The Editor:
I am troubled by the exchange between Ridgewood teachers and the Board of Education in recent letters to the editor of this newspaper.
As I understand it, Chapter 78, a state law that phased in greater employee contributions to healthcare, is now fully implemented. The law says, “After full implementation, those contribution levels will become part of the parties’ collective negotiations and will then be subject to collective negotiations in a manner similar to other negotiable items between the parties.” I believe this means that, under current law, our board is expected to look at both salaries and healthcare in order to reach a satisfying agreement with the Ridgewood Education Association.
Yet, it seems as if teachers are appealing to the board to negotiate healthcare as well as salaries. In a letter to the editor, Pat Rosenfeld asks the board to “step up and negotiate alternate cost sharing arrangements.” Donna Pedersen echoes this request in her letter and says, “All that I am requesting of our Board of Education is to have respect for us as educators, professionals, and community members and to sit down with the REA to talk about the cost of our healthcare benefits.” In both letters, teachers seem to be pleading for a negotiation process that I believe is currently expected under state law. So I ask, If negotiation is stipulated in Chapter 78, why is this appeal necessary?
My last point is an observation. Based on the board’s information, 413 of the 520 teachers earn less than $100,000 per year. Most teachers do not enter the field of education in order to get rich. From my experience, most Ridgewood teachers work hard and care deeply about their students and education. In return, they expect a reasonable standard of living in an outrageously expensive area. Equally important, they want a Board of Education that negotiates both healthcare arrangements and salaries, which, as I understand it, is stipulated in Chapter 78, a state law.
Sally Lewis
Ridgewood
Just grandstanding…bring back Charles Reilly….
To roll back employee contribution percentage would defeat the purpose of the law.