Will the kicking of the can continue with the Teachers contract??? Now is the time to stop this nonsense!!
Let’s hope we can at least put a dent in the can! One would think the REA has gotten the message by now. It would appear that most of Ridgewood (excluding the teachers who actually live in town) oppose their union’s demands. Why are we paying our teachers more than surrounding towns with better or comparable ratings? There goes your real estate values. Wyckoff, Allendale, HoHoKus, Franklin Lakes, Upper Saddle River are all lovely towns with lower taxes. I just can’t get that photo of those teachers’ and their mean, arrogant and angry faces out of my mind. The blonde and one next to her wearing sunglasses look particularly nasty! If they knew who my child was I’m sure there would be ramifications in the classroom for this comment!
Our teachers are behaving disgracefully. And, you know if and when a K is reached they will argue for retroactive raises for the period of time they have been working without one. Yes, it is to their advantage to continue this way and hold the HS kids/parents as hostage. Really wish they would all move on if they are so unhappy.
Hint to all the seniors looking for letters: go visit your bosses, intern employers, faith leaders, volunteer leaders. They speak more about your true character than these union hacks. I always write letters of recommendation for friends, associates, employees, etc. because I’ve see the subject in action – not just in theory
These teachers supported Obamacare and now they want taxpayers to pay for more of the annual “platinum” health benefit premiums? Maybe the teachers should read today’s WSJ article looking at growth in middle-class families’ share of overall healthcare spending, which is growing larger, and squeezing households already feeling stretched financially. The article notes that by 2014, middle-income households’ healthcare spend was 25% higher than what they were spending before the recession, with these households cutting back sharply on more discretionary categories such as dining out and clothing. It adds that rising out-of-pocket costs combined with slow economic growth and years of tepid wage growth in the private sector pose risks for an economy in which consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of overall output. So why do the teachers expect that taxpayers in Ridgewood will just forever subsidizing more of their health benefits, which are already better than the deal in the private sector?
Teachers in the photo above: Please read below written by a retired colleague. The taxpayers can no longer and will no longer agree to your sweetheart deals which is why so many of your brethren have retired early to “take the money and run.” So when you whine about your paychecks and benefits, remember, the rest of us have to live very carefully and save enough, cross our fingers Wall St. doesn’t do funny things just to make sure we might be able to retire (and we have to pay for our own supplemental medical insurance). Just because we live in Ridgewood does not mean we are 1%ers. Some of us, with college degrees earn less than you and have stressful demanding jobs so your protests fall on deaf ears. I don’t like or agree with much Christie does but this is one thing he got right and tried to fix.
The author of the guest essay below is a retired New Jersey teacher who considers her benefits package far too generous. Gov. Christie was right to confront the teachers’ union immediately after taking office, she says, since teacher benefits could eventually bankrupt the state, and many others, if outlays needed to pay those benefits continue to outstrip revenues. I have withheld the author’s name to protect her from retaliation by her former colleagues.
I watch with gratitude the commercial by Prudential that warns those who hope to retire to think about how much money they’ll need to do so comfortably. I am grateful because I need not worry so much about my money running out before my nest egg does. I am a retired New Jersey educator. My funds are as lengthy as my life. They will even continue to support my spouse after I am gone at a rate of 50%. His pension will additionally support me at a rate of 50% if he should pre-decease me.
I began teaching in 1972 at an annual salary of $7,700. It was not much. Incremental raises were small from year to year. I ended my career teaching after 30 years. I was 52 — three years below full retirement age. I decided for personal reasons to retire early at a penalty of 3% per annum below the full retirement age, which was recently moved down to 55. I was not concerned because the 9% decrease in my pension benefits would be more than offset by three additional years of benefits.
Although I am not well versed in the subject of finance, I am told that I would need to have amassed a nest egg substantially greater than a million dollars to provide as well for myself as New Jersey does. Since this is a near impossibility at my former pay scale, it is all the more amazing that New Jersey is so generously funding my golden years. Additionally, my healthcare benefits were covered by the state until Medicare kicked in. After that, my secondary insurance was picked up by the N.J. State Health Benefits Plan.
This is a rather lengthy prelude to the point I wish to convey about the state of pensions both in New Jersey and other states that confer similar benefits on government workers. It is clear that this level of pension funding cannot be sustained indefinitely. Public servants must be part of the solution to burgeoning budget deficits in every state in which they occur. I am not an actuary, nor am I an economist, but I can see the anger growing in the public-at-large that continues to question the demands of those who receive generous packages during their employment and afterwards. Surely, the cris de coeur about the plight of educators cannot reflect the economic realities of many of the constituents who pay the educators’ salaries.
Bergen County ‘Tops’ at $90K.
To give you an idea of how very generous teachers’ pensions are, I’ve appended average salaries for NJ districts in 2011-12 below. Benefits are calculated by taking the average salary of the last three years of employment multiplied by the number of years in New Jersey public education, divided by 60 (full retirement age). Thus, if you worked as teacher in Bergen County for 30 years, your annual pension benefit could be as high as $45,114 ($90,228 x 30 divided by 60). When I retired early, I received 30 years divided by 55 (which was for a short time considered full retirement age. Gov. Christie returned the full retirement age to 60 as a cost-saving measure). Tack on full health insurance until Medicare kicks in, plus, when you reach 65, the state picks up the supplemental costs. A pretty sweet deal, no?
Here are the salary averages, by county: 1. Northern Valley Regional (Bergen County) $90,228; 2. Ocean City (Cape May) $88,434; 3. Carlstadt-East Rutherford (Bergen) $87,502; 4. East Rutherford (Bergen) $86,624; 5. Edison (Middlesex) $84,159; 6. Margate (Atlantic) $83,820; 7. East Orange (Essex) $83,418; 8. Closter (Bergen) $82,558; 9. Wallkill Valley Regional (Sussex) $82,475; 10. High Point Regional (Sussex) $82,386; 11. Teaneck (Bergen) $82,116; 12. West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional (Mercer) $82,059; 13. Hackensack (Bergen) $81,900;14. Pascack Valley Regional (Bergen) $81,832;15. Mainland Regional (Atlantic) $81,100; 16. Trenton (Mercer) $80,886;17. Millburn (Essex) $80,774; 18. Pemberton (Burlington) $80,579; 19. River Dell Regional (Bergen) $79,564; 20. Freehold Regional (Monmouth) $79,185.
Often I feel like a traitor to my profession – or I am made to feel so by the constant postings of my former colleagues who seek every opportunity to defame Gov. Christie for his hardline stance on unsustainable obligations to retired educators. I am not, however, traitorous. A paradox arises out of this situation. Taxes rise to cover increasing costs. Retirees who cannot afford some of the highest property taxes and state taxes take their pensions out of state and live in tax free zones. It is time for us to become responsible adults and change a system which is antiquated and inequitable for those who are left to pay the price.
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.
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.
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.
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?
The Board of Education is committed to settling the contract with the Ridgewood Education Association (REA). To this end, the full Board will meet with the state-appointed super conciliator on July 20 at 5 p.m. at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place.
The REA negotiating team will also be present that evening. The Board is unanimously steadfast in its desire to resolve the on-going impasse with the REA and is prepared to stay as long as needed to finalize the settlement and reach agreement on a successor contract to the one that expired on June 30, 2015. The Board fervently hopes that the 2016-17 school year will start with a new contract and put an end to the difficulties that this impasse has caused. When the Board’s negotiating team first met with the super conciliator on June 27, the team presented a threeyear contract proposal that included a salary increase for each of the three years of 1.1%, 2.8% and 2.8%, with additional one-time payments for the highest paid teachers to defray part of the increased costs for their healthcare premiums. The average salaries for Ridgewood’s teachers are currently near the top when compared to salaries in other Bergen County school districts. Our starting salaries for teachers are at the top. If the REA were to accept the Board’s proposal, our teachers would continue to maintain that comparative advantage. The Board’s proposal includes a change to the health benefit plan from NJ Direct 10 to NJ Direct 15. Both plans offer the same provider network. With NJ Direct 15 there would be a nominal increase in copays for primary care doctors and specialists. The copay would increase from $10 to $15. A change in the health insurance plan would lower premium costs for both the district and the staff. The Board’s proposal would fairly compensate our teachers and secretaries for the excellent work they do. To date, in every negotiation session the Board’s team has delineated the economic impact of the proposals discussed.
The team has been forthright in its discussions with the REA, the mediator, the fact-finder, and the super conciliator that the cost of the contract must be affordable and aligned with the district’s financial realities, which include a two percent limit on tax increases. The Board remains hopeful that a settlement can be reached that addresses the needs articulated by our teachers and secretaries but does not set the stage for drastic cuts to staff and programs nor jeopardize the district’s financial future.
REA statement :
“Once again tonight the BOE has refused to accept the report from the impartial State Appointed Fact Finder. In fact the Board has not improved its position since February, and tonight presented nothing new to the REA negotiating team.The BOE continues in its position that it cannot afford the Fact Finder report. The impartial Fact Finder examined the Board’s books when he made his recommendation. Despite the BOE’s false statements, the report shows it has the resources to fund the recommended settlement. If the BOE cuts programs, it will not be because of the REA. Instead the Board is using scare tactics and the threat of cutting programs as an attempt to scapegoat the REA. This is no time for divisiveness; instead it is time for compromise. But as long as the Board remains set in their discredited “cost neutral” position, until it is willing to truly negotiate, this impasse will not end.
This meeting was the last chance of a settlement before September. Its failure to negotiate tonight means that teachers and secretaries will return to work beginning their second year under an expired contract. In addition, the Ridgewood Administrators Association (RAA) contract has also expired. The recalcitrance of the Board now means that in addition to teachers and secretaries, every principal, assistant principal, and supervisor will also begin September under an expired contract. This should not be acceptable in Ridgewood.
The Board needs to stop posturing and begin the work of negotiating in good faith to settle this contract. The BOE obviously, as stated in its email to the school community, is NOT “prepared to stay as long as needed to finalize the settlement and reach an agreement on a successor contract”.
The median HOUSEHOLD incomes in Ridgewood are $138,000… teachers work for 10 months a year with tenure in many cases, so if you annualize teacher pay for 12 months work, they get paid paid the same as an entire household at the median in Ridgewood, i.e. $118,000 for 10 months = $136,000 for 12 months, with the added safety of tenured job security. Add in:
1) taxpayer subsidized $28,000 annual family “platinum” health benefit plan, which is much better than the average private sector employer plan (equivalent to “bronze”), and has much lower premiums, $5-10 co-pays, and covers up to 96% of all billable costs; as well as,
2) defined benefit pension plans for life which TPAF members contribute less than 7.5% of their annual wages towards (still!) and start drawing at an average age of 62 in NJ which can be worth over $2 million if the retiree lives to average US lifespan; and,
3) sick leave which gets carried over year after year instead of the “use it or lose it” sick leave offered by private sector employers
It becomes very clear that teachers have a MUCH better deal than the median Ridgewood household, which pays much higher health plan co-pays and deductibles for less health benefit coverage (on average, private sector plans only cover 84% of medical expenses), loses unused sick leave that cannot be carried over, runs the risk of job loss, and contributes up to 16% of their annual wages towards defined contribution pension plans, i.e. 401(k) plans. Combined teacher benefits are already too high even for well qualified, experienced, certified, professionals… which, by the way, is not what we got from the REA in the 2015/16 academic year. We got petulant, greedy, bad faith, so-called professionals who let our kids and schools down in a multitude of ways, from recommendation letters, to after school programs and activities, to community outreach. Notice the lack of signs supporting teachers in Ridgewood; we’ve had enough.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Schools had 3 teachers listed on the Department of Educations list of teachers in the $100,000 per year club.
The three Ridgewood teachers all make $116,173 annually. They are:
DEBELLA, MARGARET SCHAEFER
SCHAEFER, RICHARD MCNAMEE
MCNAMEE, HAROLD NELSON
The Department of Education releases this annual list of teachers and their salaries. The list of educators making joining the $100,000 club has grown . Over a decade ago the list barely had any teachers on it now has grown to more than 5,000.That’s only a tiny fraction of the more than 90,000 people who teach in public and charter schools in this state. The highest earners come from all different schools and not just the so-called “wealthy” districts that routinely rank highly on national and state lists for best schools.
Ridgewood teachers are some of the highest paid in the entire State. We all want raises and better health care from our employers but most of us are just happy to have a job now. In fact if anyone I know behaved the way these protesting teachers have been they would be fired. The teachers don’t seem to understand that things are not great for a lot of people since the recession and recovery has been slow. Those who enjoy the security of tenure, and automatic raises can’t seem to grasp what is going on for so many of us struggling to pay our taxes. Hold the line BOE. Teachers unhappy with their jobs in our school system should look elsewhere. We don’t need malcontents in our classrooms and there are a lot of people who would be very happy to have their jobs..
RIDGEWOOD — A state-appointed super conciliator will try this month to settle a labor dispute between the Board of Education and the district teachers’ union that’s left teachers working without a contract for more than a year.
There have been a number of disagreements throughout the 18 months of negotiations. But arguments over salaries, proposed changes to the union’s insurance plan and how much Ridgewood Education Association members must contribute to their health-insurance premiums have created deep rifts that two previous state mediators were unable to patch.
I like the idea of a referendum on the teachers contract, so long as it’s binding. We had great teachers and administrators who built up the reputation of Ridgewood schools. The current bunch? Meh. They seem to care more about their health benefits than our kids. If you witnessed their behavior this past school year you’d agree they’ve done nothing to carry on the “tradition of excellence”. More like “riding on the coat-tails of the reputation built by the predecessors.” They are trying to bully us with the backing of NJEA lawyers and lobbyists. We need to support our BOE and students, if only they elicited the same grassroots support that the we’ve seen opposing the most recent garage proposal and Valley!
Readers say……..Not sure why the teachers seem to confuse a “tradition of excellence” with they, themselves, being excellent? The decline in our schools suggests they are, in fact, not continuing with the tradition… And health benefits and above property tax wage increases seem to be taken for granted. Offer them a diminished contract and if they don’t like it, they are fee to seek employment with another school board or in the private sector. If the grass is greener, walk!
Are we all aware of the actions the teachers are taking. They are so unprofessional and demonstrate a total lack of excellence and just no passion at all for the kids. They wait outside te high school as a group until the last minute required for school start, they lock the classroom doors during down time as not to be bothered to help a kid who may need it. They will not attend a single function, award presentation, and in many cases do not offer to help write a recommendation letter or even some guidance. Teachers that do offer to support anything outside what is in the contract are threatened and hassled by other teachers.
These are not good people, they do not care about the kids, and they are taking advantage of this town who values eduction. No one is getting 3% raised a year, everyone is paying more for healthcare, and very few only work 180 days a year.
Fire a few, I will take the job, after 40 years in corporate companies I could,use the relaxed job
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