Tag: REA

Posted on

Sweeney bombshell: Investigate NJEA, cops union for extortion over pension threat

Ridgewood EA teachers protest
By Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on August 03, 2016 at 12:16 PM, updated August 03, 2016 at 5:34 PM
 TRENTON — Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Wednesday that threats by public worker unions to withhold campaign contributions unless the Senate passes pension legislation amounts to “bribery” and “extortion” and should be investigated by state and federal officials.

At a Statehouse news conference, Sweeney (D-Gloucester) responded to reports the state’s largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, told county Democratic Party chairmen it wouldn’t release campaign cash until next spring as a cudgel to force action on a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing billions of dollars in contributions to the government worker pension fund.

Sweeney also said his office received a direct threat from the president of the Fraternal Order of Police. He penned letters to the U.S. attorney and state attorney general requesting investigate the threats as violations of both state and federal bribery laws.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/08/sweeney_calls_for_investigation_of_njea_pension_vo.html#incart_river_mobileshort_home_pop

Posted on

N.J. teachers union won’t donate to Democrats until Senate votes on pension ballot measure

REA Members come out to greet our Board of Ed

 

The union representing New Jersey teachers has told Democratic Party leaders that it will not make any campaign contributions this year until the Senate votes on a constitutional amendment requiring that the state make quarterly payments to the public employee pension fund, a top Democratic official confirmed Tuesday. John C. Ensslin, The Record Read more

Posted on

Reader says Vote NO on all day Kindergarten, it will drive out Seniors

kindergarten-cop-comedy

The school system is eating up my income.

They are having committees to study why people over 55 are leaving. Shiela Brogan is on the committee. The survey showed that moving is a financial decision. She needs to pay attention.

Complete agreement with all of the above. Taxes are out of control. And as for the moving truck option, don’t think for a minute that Ridgewood taxes will make the town and your home desirable to young families. Nice towns with lower taxes and higher rated schools surround us. Pay for your own pre-K and Ridgewood teachers need to get a grip on reality when it comes to their demands.

Driving out seniors is not going to help the school population or tax base. Add-ons like this may be the last straw for many who already get nothing from approximately 2/3 of their enormous property tax bite. Tired of hearing that good schools help property values, etc. The fact is that this school system has been going down the tubes for years and the world at large is finally starting to realize it. Throwing more millions at it won’t help. Eliminate half the jobs at the Ed Center and resolve the teachers’ contract dispute before coming to taxpayers for more and more.

As for property values: People will just look at other towns – Allendale, Wyckoff, HoHoKus Upper Saddle River, Ramsey, Montvale, Woodcliff Lake all have lower taxes and comparable if not better schools. Yes, Ridgewood may have a certain status and reputation in its favor but times are different now. The town has changed and more changes are could be on their way. BOE needs to keep a strong position that considers taxpayers. Our teachers are already higher paid than most and pre-school should be the parents’ responsibility.

Schools used to be top class in the entire country 25 years ago. Now it’s all on fumes of past reputation. Current teachers care more about their health benefits than they do about our students, which is sad.

Posted on

Reader says Ridgewood is not an easy town to live in and is getting more difficult every year

for sale Ridgewood_Real_Estate_theRodgewopodblog

file photo by Boyd Loving

As a 20 year resident who had three children go through the schools I offer the following thoughts. Ridgewood is not an easy town to live in and is getting more difficult every year. The school system and performance has steadily declined while the costs are out of control, $100M budget today will be how much in 10 years? The teachers are nasty, do not help the kids at all, and many of us require multiple tutors to get the kids good SAT and college test scores. How many of us had to use tutors? The town in-fights on everything from a sports field to housing to development to traffic. We spend money to improve the train station, but many residents cant park after 7:00am, there is also no way to pick-up or discharge passengers. We add a bike lane in the busiest section of town and back up traffic in all directions for untold miles. Anyone ever able to get a new stop sign or police enforcement on a road that supports speeding, have to wait for something awful to happen before getting attention? Every spring people plant lawns and gardens and every summer, Ridgewood (only Ridgewood) sends out the ‘deputies’ to fine those who water their lawns.

The taxes on my home have almost doubled in 12 years, value has not risen (in fact may have fallen) while services, roads, parking, etc have all remained stagnant.

After 20 years and with a sense of regret we will fold the tents here and move on. I am sure someone will move in a be very happy as we were, but I do suggest we all understand that times are changed and not for the better

Posted on

Ridgewood Board of Ed Incumbents Run Uncontested

BOE_theridgewoodblog

July 29,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, BOE Members Jeannette Wilson and James Morgan will be running uncontested for Ridgewood School Board Seats. Two incumbents are seeking reelection to the Ridgewood Board of Education.

Despite efforts by the REA to run union members and pro union people for Ridgewood BOE seats no one stepped up.

Click here to read an updated statement on REA – BOE contract negotiations, issued by the Ridgewood Board of Education on July 22, 2016.

The two incumbents, Jeannette Wilson and James Morgan were the only two candidates to file petitions to run this year. Monday July 25th at 4 p.m. was the deadline to file petitions for the school board to be on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The November 8th election ballot will include a question for residents about implementing full-day Kindergarten in Ridgewood. To learn more about full-day Kindergarten, please click here for a FAQ sheet.

 

Posted on

Readers feel Ridgewood Teachers are living in the “Land of Make believe”

misterrogers02
Why are you conveniently ignoring the benefits package? Is it because that’s not in your self-interest to mention that? Add in your lifetime defined benefit pension (which current REA members only contribute 6.5% of their base salary to, rising to only 7.5% by 2018!) which you can start collecting at age 55~60 when you have enough service time. Add in the sick leave you’ve accumulated year after year. Add in your lifetime health plan which covers 96% of all medical costs, both in- and out-of-network, with $10 co-pays, with all of the above being subsidized by Ridgewood taxpayers. How is that not fair? No one in the private sector has benefits like these. That’s was supposed to be the trade-off, but now you want more wages growing faster than the 2% property cap (and inflation), too? Most Ridgewood residents think you’re asking for far too much; we’re being taxed to death to pay for this and your benefits should be diminished. Time to accept you’re in a losing position.

Your pension and health benefits are better than the private sector. That’s always been the trade-off. Teachers make less than comparable professionals in the private sector, but get an incredible retirement deal. Now your union and the NJEA are telling you that you deserve equivalent wages, too? You are getting the wrong advice. Prorate your salary for 187 days a year, add in all of your excessive benefits, and remember there are 1,100 applicants to replace you if you decide there’s a better deal elsewhere. Stop holding us hostage.

Posted on

Readers say There is no room for your NJEA style tactics in our Village of Ridgewood

Ridgewood EA teachers protest

Picketing our BOE with red shirts and signs is a union thug tactic . There is no room for your NJEA style tactics in our Village. Tell the full-time NJEA lawyers, activists and lobbyists advising the REA that we have no room for their thug-like tactics in our beautiful Village. Take it back to Hudson County.

I think the term “thugs” was used referring to union tactics but our teachers are not behaving professionally. If you look at the faces in the middle picture above none of them look very happy. I’d say malcontent is an accurate description. If I made a face like that at my job, I’d be placed on a PIP for having a bad attitude! I believe the majority of Ridgewood residents support the BOE holding the line given that we already pay our teachers very generously. We live in a beautiful town and we value education but a lot of us are struggling to make ends meet and our property taxes are getting out of hand. We don’t speak openly because we do not want our children punished in the classroom for our opinions.

Posted on

Reader says 1,100 applicants for Ridgewood BOE job openings in the past 12 months

REA Members come out to greet our Board of Ed

1,100 applicants for Ridgewood BOE job openings in the past 12 months. Hopefully there are a lot more job openings once we get rid of the thugs pictured above. Can anyone name these people? The look on their faces tells it all: they are smug, self-entitled, and angry about $15 co-pays instead of the current $10… let’s fire the malcontents and replace them with educators who want to work with our kids.

These teachers and their benefits are out of control. Hold the line BOE. Thank goodness most of our volunteer BOE members don’t have kids in the schools anymore – the REA abused previous board members who did have kids with veiled threats and heaped abuse. The REA’s tactics are in BAD faith, and they are selfish. Support our students, support the BOE and support Ridgewood taxpayers.

The greedy teachers don’t $15 co-pays, they want to keep $10. And their platinum coverage covers up to 96% of medical expenses both in and out of network with full family coverage worth $28,000 a year in premiums…. NO ONE in the private sector gets a plan like that, only greedy public sector workers who think it’s their right.

Posted on

Reader says The REA just wants more money taken from the students and extracurricular’s to pay for their average annual above inflation (and above 2% property tax cap) wage increases and “platinum” health plan benefits

REA Members come out to greet our Board of Ed

#DOITFIRDAKIDZ

The REA just wants more money taken from the students and extracurricular’s to pay for their average annual above inflation (and above 2% property tax cap) wage increases and “platinum” health plan benefits covering 96% of all medical benefits with $10 co-pays. Why are Ridgewood residents paying above average property taxes in Bergen County for schools to only cut spending on students to pay even more for teachers who already earn the highest average salaries in Bergen? Does this make any sense? Won’t our property values decline if our schools keep declining like they have?

Posted on

Reader says Ridgewood Teacher’s Union supporters are blatantly misleading readers and twisting facts

REA, ridgewoood teachers

You are blatantly misleading readers and twisting facts!!! Assuming you pay average Ridgewood property taxes of $16,000 a year, and assuming you are, in fact, a soon to retire teacher, then your $16,000 in property taxes helps cover the cost of Village contributions towards your lifetime defined benefit TPAF pension.

Assuming you are a Tier 1 member (enrolled in TPAF before July 2007), you can retire between age 55~60 you will receive full retirement benefits. To calculate how much your annual pension is worth, you divide your service time by 55, then multiple that by your average salary for the three years immediately preceding your retirement. So say 35 years divided by 55 = 63.6% of your average final salary $118,000 = $75,000 in taxpayer protected, defined benefit pension every year until you die which will be more than 25+ years if you retire at 60 and live to the average U.S. lifespan of 85 years. For this you contributed only 6.5% of your base salary but you get a defined benefit amount in retirement plan, i.e. you are insulated from any investment risk and benefit from taxpayer protected pension plan with an assumed annual rate of return of 7.95%. Yes the percentage contribution will gradually climb to 7.5% by 2018, but it’s still less than the 10% that PFRS members contribute and you take no investment risk like the rest of us with defined contribution IRAs or 401(k) plans. Those who enrolled in TPAF on June 28, 2011, or later are won’t be eligible until 65 for a pension, but that is for members who will retire in 35+ years from now, NOT you.

That $16,000 in property taxes also helps to subsidize your “Platinum” level health benefits, as defined by the ACA, which is an annual benefit of up to $28,000 a year depending on family member coverage. This plan covers up to 96% of eligible medial costs with $10 co-pays..TPAF members with at least 10 years of service time also receive a free group life insurance policy payable upon their death to their beneficiaries. You can also choose to purchase an additional group life policy that costs 0.4% of your paycheck. Not bad for $16,000 in property taxes, which is why it means you should be ASHAMED of your comment that “I am Ridgewood tax payer too and suffer just like you when the rates increase.” You don’t suffer, it’s in YOUR beneficial interest because you benefit from increased taxes which help pay for your retirement. Put in $16,000 a year in property taxes and get out over $105,000 in annual benefits. So please tell the whole story here or it truly is “shame on you.”

Posted on

REA supporter reverts to the same old name calling because it worked so well for the last mayor and his crew

Ridgewood EA teachers protest
We heard this from Valley Hospital,then the 3 amigos and now the REA 

“Hold strong to your position REA. This heinous, negative sentiment toward educators is indicative of a minority of Ridgewood residents. Comments about not having the support of the community are inaccurate. More and more of the limited support Ridgewood Teacher signs are cropping up everyday despite this being vacation time. The premise that teachers are living in a fantasy world, are asking for pie-in-the-sky benefits and don’t understand the reality of the day are ridiculous. The REA has proposed what every other district in NJ has asked for, nothing more. Teacher hate is not the norm in other towns…… and not for the majority of Ridgewood residents.”

“I have followed the various posts on this blog related to the current negotiations and have held my tongue. I have read that teachers are : greedy, vindictive, inactive, unprofessional, uncaring, easily replaceable, union puppets, abusing an archaic system, engaging in activities that would have them fired from non tenured jobs (wearing a red shirt for unity) and a litany of other things that are an affront to common decency. Statements are made based on gossip, half-truths and inaccurate facts that fuel the animosity. If someone, who knew nothing about the situation, happened upon this blog and took the comments as accurate, they would believe the Ridgewood teachers to be angry, slothful beings,living high on the hog, hellbent on bankrupting the taxpayers, brainwashing (while not caring about or actually teaching) their students, being provided an exorbitant salary for a no-show job, while lounging on the beach. If this isn’t teacher hate, please tell me what is?”
Posted on

Ridgewood Board of Education ,REA Negotiations Update

REA Members come out to greet our Board of Ed

July 22, 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, For six hours on Wednesday evening, July 20, the Board of Education members and the Ridgewood Education Association (REA) Negotiating Team met with Tim Huntley, the state-appointed super conciliator.  The contract remains unsettled.

At the meeting, the Board reviewed its three-year contract proposal and the district’s finances with the super conciliator. The Board’s proposal included:

·      Salary increases over three years of 1.1%, 2.8% and 2.8%;

·      For the highest paid teachers, payments to offset a portion of the cost of their health insurance premium contributions. These amounts would be $500 year one, $1,000 year two, and $1,500 year three;

·       A change in the health insurance plan from NJ Direct 10 to NJ Direct 15.  According to our estimates, the change in the health insurance plan, if it happened by January 1, 2017, would reduce the cost of premium for the district by $722,878 and for the REA members by $250,040.

Contrary to the REA’s statement that was released after the meeting, this proposal is not the same proposal offered to them in February.

The current proposal reflects our sincere attempt to compromise and address the contract requests from the REA.

The Board’s offer is structured to keep salaries above the county average and maintain our standing as having the highest salaries in the county for new teachers.  The district’s great reputation and our competitive salaries continue to attract job applicants.  That is why eleven hundred applicants applied for open teaching positions in the last twelve months.

The Board’s offer also speaks to the REA’s request for relief for the highest paid teachers contributing 35% of the cost of their health care premiums.  The proposal of one-time yearly payments of $500, $1,000, and $1,500 would provide this requested relief from increased contributions.

The change to the health insurance plan would lower premium costs and give further relief to all REA members.

The REA Negotiating Team did not come to the table with a contract proposal on Wednesday night. There was no willingness to negotiate or compromise.  Rather, the team told us that they would only accept the settlement recommended by the fact-finder as outlined in his May 15th report and again said that the district has the money to fund those recommendations.

The fact-finding report was made public and is posted on the district’s website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.

The fact-finder’s recommended settlement would cost the district $4.4 million over and above the state-mandated 2% cap during the life of the contract.  For this reason, to fund that settlement and to balance the budget, the Board would have to make critical cuts to staff and programs that would severely diminish the quality of the instructional and extra-curricular programs for our students.

Cuts would include firing teachers, secretaries and administrators; reducing the number of athletic and co-curricular activities; and lowering the amount spent for custodial services, textbooks, professional development, and technology.

When by the end of the July 20th meeting settlement was not reached, the super conciliator set the date of September 6 for our next meeting.  The full Board will be there.  In the meantime, the Board is preparing documents to share with the REA verifying that breakage — the cost difference between the salary of retirees and salaries of new employees — is not available revenue to fund the settlement proposed by the fact-finder.

The REA has accused the Board of not caring about our students, the district, and the staff.  These charges are false. In fact, the Board’s concern for our students and their educational well being is the reason why we did not originally accept the fact-finder’s recommendations and continue to maintain our position.

The BOE assures residents that , “as we look forward to the new school year and welcoming our teachers back to work on September 1, all of the terms and conditions of the expired contract continue.  There has not been, nor will there be, any interruption or reduction in REA staff salaries or benefits. Stipends paid to those who are advisers to our clubs, sports and performing arts extra-curricular programs will also continue to be fully funded in accordance with the expired contract.”

Posted on

Reader says Clearly there are many of us that feel Ridgewood teachers have been handed a pretty sweet deal over the years

REA Members come out to greet our Board of Ed

I think it is time for the parents to speak up. Clearly there are many of us that feel the teachers have been handed a pretty sweet deal over the years. Why should they be entitled to anything more than the rest of us deserve? Just because they look after our children? The fact that they are only required to actually teach them 23 hours a week blows my mind. We have tried to speak on social media, but when we do we are shot down. We try to speak anonymously but again we are attacked. The lack of signs that around town show how little support the teachers are getting. I think at the next BOE meeting we need to show ourselves in numbers. We need to speak and let our voices be heard. We need to show them that there are fewer supporters for the teachers than they they think. It is time for the bullying by the teachers and union end and we take a stand and support our children and the BOE. The fact is that the teachers are complaining that morale is low. Just by signing a contract is not going to change anything. You have lost the respect of many of the parents in this town and the example you are setting is not the one I want to have my children live by. I think that many of us would gladly welcome new blood. As teachers I thought you would support your peers. The attitude you have is there is none better than you. Remember you were young once too. Don’t take your job for granted!..

…We can’t speak because our children would likely by personally targeted by Yannone and the REA. It is despicable what the REA is doing. Last year teachers at the high school turned out the lights at 3:14 on kids coming for extra help during period 9. They also had their coats on 3:12 just to make sure they didn’t spend an “extra” minute in the building. Several overnight field trips including those associated with special honors programs and sold as part of the curriculum were cancelled in a capricious and arbitrary manner, and despite the strenuous efforts of the classroom teachers to hold the trips. Of course this year we won’t have to worry about that since we have been told that ALL clubs and field trips will be cancelled. I imagine this will start to more directly impact the younger kids this year. Hard to feel sympathetic for the teachers and their fight against the $5 copay bump. But having seen how they operated last year – there is no way I would speak publicly at a board meeting. The REA, in my opinion, would not hesitate to harass students that are children of complainers.

Posted on

Teacher contract negotiations stagnant in Ridgewood

REA, ridgewoood teachers

BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD – This week’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting contained an update on the status of contract negotiations between the board and the Ridgewood Education Association (REA), as well as the announcement of a new administrator.

Contract Status

BOE President Sheila Brogan reiterated that the board is committed to settling the contract with the REA.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/teacher-contract-negotiations-stagnant-1.1633839

Posted on

Reader says I highly doubt the BOE is looking to the blog for guidance. HOWEVER, this blog has been pretty on the money as it relates to Ridgewood sentiment

Ridgewood EA teachers protest

I highly doubt the BOE is looking to the blog for guidance. HOWEVER, this blog has been pretty on the money as it relates to Ridgewood sentiment having predicted recent council elections and referendum votes correctly. Perhaps the BOE SHOULD be reading here? Furthermore, if you look at the Ridgewood Moms and DADs facebook page, most posts about the REA are met with silence. Why do you think that is? Lastly, the losing council candidates had probably 10x as many visible signs as the support the Ridgewood teachers sign. What does THAT tell you?