Tag: Ridgewood Teachers

Posted on

Ridgewood BOE highlights memorandum

BOE_the ridgwoodblog

FEBRUARY 12, 2016    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

BOE highlights memorandum

Click here to read the Fact Finding Report between the Ridgewood Board of Education and the REA dated February 3, 2016.

To the Editor,

At our Feb. 8 Board of Education meeting, our teachers voiced concerns about the unsettled contract and the Board’s recent proposal. It was evident that the information they were given about the Board’s proposal was incorrect.

The Board and the Ridgewood Education Association Negotiations committees have met 12 times since February 2015. Unfortunately, we have failed to settle the contract. On Wednesday, Feb. 3, a hearing was held before the state-appointed Fact-finder. At the hearing, the Board summarized its position and the current proposal in a memorandum. The bullet points below highlight the key areas discussed in our memorandum. The full memorandum can be found on the District’s website at ridgewood.k12.nj.us.

Key areas in the Board’s Fact-finding memorandum:

The Board has based its negotiating position on the realities of a state law, Chapter 44, which limits local school boards to annual property tax increases of no more than two percent over the previous year’s dollar amounts, with some limited exceptions.

Ridgewood teacher salaries are at, or near the top of, salaries paid for similarly qualified staff in other Bergen County school districts.

The Board currently spends over $7 million per year, or approximately 74 percent of the premium bill, for REA health benefits. The Board has not proposed to increase the teachers’ share of the health benefit premiums.

Health benefit premiums have increased on average by 10 percent annually for the past 10 years.

The Board has proposed changing the health benefits plan within the current provider program (the School Employees Health Benefits Plan) to one with higher co-pays — $10 doctor visit co-pay in the current plan rising to $15 per primary care doctor visit and $25 for specialists — as a way to save both the District and teachers on premium costs.

Breakage, or any savings due to retirements, is not a reasonable way to fund a settlement. Historically, the Board has spent any such savings on new hires or on salary increases for existing teachers as they complete graduate courses and higher education degrees.

State aid for rapidly rising special education costs has decreased in the last three years.

The District’s architect and engineering firm completed a facility review and recommended facility upgrades/repairs of approximately $40 million. The capital reserve account balance as of June 30, 2015 was $1,018,989, far short of what is needed to update our 11 buildings constructed between 1894 and 1965.

Many of the comments from teachers were critical of the Board and mischaracterized us as uncaring and indifferent. The Board values our staff. We would never see our teachers as “numbers on a spreadsheet.” We are well aware of the work our staff does and that it is this work that makes Ridgewood the excellent district that it is. The Board is committed to negotiating a fair contract with the REA that can be funded within the District’s financial ability.

Sheila Brogan

Jim Morgan

Vince Loncto

Christina Krauss

Jennie Smith Wilson

Ridgewood Board of Education

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-boe-highlights-memorandum-1.1510836

Posted on

Voices heard at podium during Ridgewood BOE meeting

BOE theridgewoodblog.net

FEBRUARY 12, 2016    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD – A large number of teachers once again took the stand during Monday’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting, enumerating the various reasons why they feel a fair contract must be reached between the BOE and Ridgewood Education Association (REA).

Despite protracted negotiations, an agreement still has yet to be hammered out, causing much concern on both sides.

Although the BOE has continuously said that it values its educators and recognizes the necessity of their work, many teachers remain unconvinced.

Some, like Kim Casey, of Travell Elementary School, said they still feel like they are only figures on a spreadsheet.

“To you, I am merely a number,” she stated. “To you I am merely … the numbers of years I have before retirement, when you can fill my position with a younger teacher who won’t cost the taxpayers as much money.”

Others, like teacher Andrea Petron, of Ridge Elementary School, said they feel like teachers are an indispensible part of Ridgewood schools, and that the BOE has not treated them fairly.

“After pouring our hearts and souls into the district, it is important to know that we are appreciated and respected for the work we do,” she said. “Education is not a business, and it should not be treated as such.

“Teachers literally create every profession in the world,” she continued. “Teaching is the fundamental basis of every facet of society. It is time for you to start treating us like the rest of the world could not go on without us, including Ridgewood.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/voices-heard-at-podium-during-boe-meeting-1.1510977

Posted on

Ridgewood district, teachers remain locked in contract battle

BOE_theridgewoodblog

FEBRUARY 10, 2016, 6:49 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016, 6:57 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — The Board of Education and the Ridgewood Education Association remain locked in their inability to come to terms on a new teachers’ contract, despite the efforts of a state-appointed fact finder.

Members of the REA, cloaked in red to show solidarity, crowded into a school board meeting Monday night for the second time this month to decry the lack of progress in negotiations. Although there are numerous points of contention, the sharpest disagreement has come over how much REA members must contribute to their health-insurance premiums.

REA President Michael Yannone, a 19-year veteran of Ridgewood High School, said Monday the board’s position in a Feb. 3 fact-finding meeting was reduced to two points: The district had no additional money to spend on teacher salaries, and no other New Jersey school district had agreed to a reduction in healthcare contributions, because that would be “unaffordable.”

Yannone said neither was true. A number of districts had negotiated reductions in healthcare contributions, he said, and an influx of state aid and health contribution money — combined with under-budgeting in certain areas — had led to a sizable surplus in the local school budget.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-district-teachers-remain-locked-in-contract-battle-1.1509346

Posted on

Ridgewood Education Association held a rally outside the Board of Education building

cottageplaceBOE_theridgewoodblog

FEBRUARY 5, 2016    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD – Amidst driving rain, members of the Ridgewood Education Association (REA) held a rally outside the village’s education building Wednesday afternoon, hoping to encourage REA President Mike Yannone as he re-entered negotiations with the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) and a state-appointed fact-finder.

“This is unbelievable,” Yannone said as he watched the teachers marching around in the downpour. “I didn’t think anybody would be here.”

However, upon further reflection, Yannone noted that the “frustration level of the teachers of this town is really high,” and that a “little rain isn’t going to stop them from coming out.”

The members of the REA, marching around shouting “settle now,” say they feel they have not received a fair contract offer from the BOE, as the proposal does not address their concerns about healthcare contributions.

“We’re still dealing with the same proposal they gave us 11 months ago,” Yannone said, adding that in negotiations, “Two sides have to be willing to come in here and compromise.

“Both sides have to be willing to give to get,” he continued. “We’ve had that approach all the way through.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/despite-downpour-teachers-stand-up-1.1506700

Posted on

Michael Yannone President, Ridgewood Education Association : A “fair” settlement is when both sides give to get

Ridgewood_BOE_theridgewoodblog

Contract discussions continue

FEBRUARY 5, 2016    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Contract discussions continue

To The Editor,

Last week the Ridgewood Board of Education used this space to comment on the status of negotiations with the Ridgewood Education Association. In their statement they stated that they recently presented to us “a new and comprehensive proposal”. The village should know that this was not the case.

The major issue before us is health care contributions that is no secret every time both sides meet that is all we talk about. Almost 200 teachers came to last Monday’s BOE meeting because of this issue with 20 of them speaking personally and passionately on this topic. The board’s “new and comprehensive” proposal on this issue has not changed in 11 months, they have offered nothing new. Their continued solution is to provide teachers with a level of health care that would be the worst of any district in the state. The only savings found in this plan are on the Board’s end any savings for teachers quickly evaporate once the plan is used. They would do nothing to lower the crushing costs of contribution levels.

Again we heard about 2 percent caps on their budget. The district has money in its $101 million budget, they just prioritize its use elsewhere: additional administrators, paid speakers and consultants, fancy furniture, and yes ebooks for elementary aged children who don’t have Chromebooks just to name a few. At Monday’s meeting they announced that they were allocating $970,000 for technology in next year’s budget. But there is no money to settle this contract?

What I found most interesting in the Board’s statement was the use of quotation marks around the word fair as if this is a foreign concept that has no place in the discussion. Good faith negotiations require compromise. A “fair” settlement is when both sides give to get. The REA understands this and has been willing to give in other areas of the contract. We have repeatedly pitched creative concepts to reach a middle ground and have been rebuffed at every step with no counter proposal offered. Their statement reads as if they have actually engaged in back and forth negotiations, when in fact they have yet to offer anything new and substantial for our team to consider. Successful negotiations can not be one sided, and right now the REA feels like we are simply talking to ourselves.

It should come as no surprise that we find ourselves in this impasse as this Board has stated publicly that they are against the rights of teachers to collectively bargain. The Ridgewood Board of Education doesn’t want “fair”, they want it all.

Michael Yannone

President, Ridgewood Education Association

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-contract-discussions-continue-1.1506617

Posted on

Ridgewood school board, union fail to reach settlement

obamacare_theridgewood blog

JANUARY 29, 2016    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) and Ridgewood Education Association (REA) have failed to reach a settlement despite protracted negotiations, BOE President Sheila Brogan reported during a meeting on Monday.

The two sides met on Jan. 20, and the main sticking point continued to be healthcare contributions. A new proposal presented by the school board was rejected by the REA.

Brogan said the “comprehensive” proposal addressed issues that had been raised during previous negotiation sessions and modified the district’s “original proposal in a number of significant ways.”

“Our offer was designed to address the REA’s goal of increasing the actual take-home pay of its members without jeopardizing the district’s financial position,” Brogan said.

“The REA did not respond with a comprehensive proposal of their own,” she continued. “They chose to focus only on the amounts their members contribute towards their healthcare benefits.”

REA members, however, believe that the BOE did not make a real effort to come up with terms that would be acceptable to both parties. They also said a counteroffer was not seriously considered by the board.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/meeting-fails-to-yield-settlement-1.1501672

Posted on

Ridgewood Teachers deserve praise; taxpayers deserve a break

BOE_theridgewoodblog

DECEMBER 11, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Teachers deserve praise; taxpayers deserve a break

To the Editor:

We will try this again as what one hears cannot be generalized due to individualization. Here is my rebuttal to Michael Yannone’s letter in last week’s Ridgewood News:

1. Ridgewood teachers are paid in the upper percentile/s in the U.S. The starter salary accelerates due to various degree/s, and additional credits, etc. Fine; they are appreciated for a job well done and deserved. My point is: this is an expensive benefit paid for by the taxpayer.

2. About 10 to 15 percent of private company employees receive a traditional pension as the teachers. Calculated individually (as all pension), it “significantly exceeds” the corporate-sector pension. Fine, it is earned so enjoy. My point is: this is an expensive benefit paid for by the taxpayer.

3. U.S. companies offer lower-cost healthcare provider plans than the state teacher’s plan/s. Their “premium” plan/s have always been more generous so private company employees married to NJ teachers use the NJ state plan as their primary provider for themselves and their families both before Medicare or with Medicare as their secondary provider. Fine; my point is: this is an expensive benefit paid for by the taxpayer.

4. NJ teachers receive two paid days in November for a teacher convention whether they attend or not. Fine; this is built into their compensation/time calendar. A minimal amount of teachers attend the state convention repeatedly and not the majority. My point is: this was not the intention when this was originated.

5. U.S. companies are diligently saving money by eliminating employee benefits by contracting out work, outsourcing, mergers and down-sizing. Employees in the private sector pay for their annual escalating healthcare costs as do retirees before and with Medicare. My point is: teachers are not getting slighted by having to pay higher healthcare costs; this is the new norm due to Obamacare, designer drugs, and an aging population. This is not a one-time deal.

6. Companies get rid of older workers when they become too expensive unlike education. Fine; thank you for your continued, dedication. It is appreciated due to number of years worked. My point is: this is an expensive benefit paid for by the taxpayer.

7. The NJ taxpayer cannot afford to pay teachers their annual percentage raises along with their escalating healthcare costs as a benefit as was done in the past. Teachers are significantly more highly compensated with their benefit package than non-state, non-unionized workers.

8. NJ is going bankrupt due to pension and other obligations. People are leaving this state and purchasing out-of-state properties and claiming those places as their primary residence so they can eliminate the “choking” taxes of NJ. They then move to those second homes to retire.

9. The New Jersey Education Association and some (not all) of its members have been very vociferous about their hatred for Gov. Christie. I am not his fan but I do feel he did what was a long overdue necessity. He did a “reality check.”

Janis Belcher

Ridgewood

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-teachers-deserve-praise-taxpayers-deserve-a-break-1.1472091

BOE Meets on December 21 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, December 21, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.

The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting may also be viewed on FiOS channel 33, Optimum channel 77 or from computers via the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.

Click here to view the agenda for the December 7,, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the minutes of the November 16, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.

11.23.15: Board of Education Writes Letter to the Editor
Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of the Ridgewood News, which was published on November 20, 2015

 

Posted on

Ridgewood Teachers should be thankful

BOE theridgewoodblog.net

NOVEMBER 27, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Teachers should be ‘thankful’

To the Editor:

As a 33-year resident of Ridgewood, I am perplexed by the dissent of the Ridgewood teachers and their union about their current contract. The teachers are unhappy about paying for the increase in their healthcare costs. Everyone today is paying for their healthcare increases: medical personnel, retirees, and pharmaceutical company employees. The reason healthcare costs are continually rising (and will be in the future) are: Obamacare for the masses, an aging baby boomer population now requiring geriatric, cardiac, cancer, psychiatric, specialty care and designer drugs to help everyone live a longer life. Did the New Jersey Education Association think its Democratic-endorsed, union wishes for a national healthcare program would be absorbed by the public when in fact other municipalities in New Jersey and other states have opposed the taxpayer absorbing this substantial cost? Who did they think would pay for this? Ridgewood taxpayers should not be penalized for their selfish/unrealistic union demands.

New Jersey teacher’s pay ranks second highest in the nation. Teachers in Ridgewood earn a six-figure salary within five years. In addition, master’s degrees, additional credits, tutoring, tutoring for SAT’s allows them to earn additional/substantial monetary compensation. Their annual increases are more generous than some state employees. There shouldn’t be a financial problem for any teacher to absorb the costs as they are earning a 1 percent upper compensation in the United States in education. There are places that are more expensive to live in than Ridgewood. In the past, certain teachers who were unhappy with contract negotiations refused to give recommendations to the seniors for college.

The teachers have job security (unlike the corporate sector), do not face age discrimination, receive 80 percent of their salary in a pension as well as a taxpayer-payer paid two-day vacation in November for a teacher convention. I say “vacation” because I have never met anyone who goes to Atlantic City for the convention but goes to a destination such as Florida.

Unfortunately their healthcare provider, Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield, of the New Jersey Education Association is the most expensive. As a matter of fact, some teacher’s spouses working in corporate America have dropped their corporate health plan (Cigna, Aetna, etc.) coverage because the state employee plan is more lucrative. The taxpayers of NJ are paying for the healthcare benefits of these teacher’s families.

In summary: I think the teachers of Ridgewood and New Jersey should be most “thankful” for the generosity of the Ridgewood taxpayer this Thanksgiving Season and not “thankless.” I sincerely hope the arbitration board will take a firm stand on their role in representing the Ridgewood residents.

Janis Belcher

Ridgewood

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-teachers-should-be-thankful-1.1463539

Posted on

REA members did not listen to BOE

BOE_theridgewoodblog

BOE Meets on November 16 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, November 16, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.

 The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting may also be viewed on FiOS channel 33, Optimum channel 77 or from computers via the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.
Click here to view the agenda for the November 2, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the minutes of the October 19, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.

11.03.15: Board of Education Issues Statement on Contract Negotiations
Click here to read a November 2, 2015 statement by the Ridgewood Board of Education, “Negotiations Status Report.”

REA members did not listen to BOE

NOVEMBER 13, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print

REA members did not listen to BOE

To the Editor:

As a regular attendee of the Board of Education meetings of late, I would like to express one fact that was missing from last week’s article that appeared on your front page (“Fact-finder returns in February,” Nov. 6, page A-1).

Your staff writer accurately reported the following: “… opening remarks were made; a couple of presentations took place; and then public comments opened up, with various members of the REA coming to the microphone to have their say.”

He then continued with, “After the public comments, Sheila Brogan, president of the board, read from a prepared statement, explaining that the talks between the REA and BOE had slowed once again…”

What your reporter failed to include in his article is that immediately after the REA chief negotiator made her comments at the microphone, all the REA members present exited the building. Ms. Brogan’s reading of the prepared statement was made to an intimate group of us after the throng of REA members left. The REA members did not even grant to a volunteer elected official, to whom they are asking a lot, the courtesy of listening to her. The board listened to them, but I can only guess that the REA felt not compelled to show the decency of listening in return.

Pick your statement: “Actions speak louder than words” or “Adults are to be role models for the younger people.”

Bob Hutton

Ridgewood

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-rea-members-did-not-listen-to-boe-1.1454653

Posted on

Fact-finder for Ridgewood teacher contract talks to return in February

BOE_the ridgwoodblog

NOVEMBER 6, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Despite recent optimism that contract discussions between the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) and Ridgewood Education Association (REA) could conclude in the near future, the process seems to have ground to a halt once again.

This past week’s BOE meeting featured a series of events that have become standard: opening remarks were made; a couple of presentations took place; and then public comments opened up, with various members of the REA coming to the microphone to have their say. While not all of the comments were related to the negotiations, the majority were.

After the public comments, Sheila Brogan, president of the board, read from a prepared statement, explaining that the talks between the REA and BOE had slowed once again, and that even with the state-appointed mediator, no agreement could be hammered out.

“As has been the case since the parties’ first meeting back in February 2015, when the association declared an impasse, the main issues have been negotiating the levels of employee share of health care premiums, the cost of premium and type of plan and fair salary increases while staying within what the board feels the taxpayers can support,” Brogan said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/fact-finder-returns-in-february-1.1449843

Posted on

N.J. changes certification requirements for teachers

BOE theridgewoodblog.net

NOVEMBER 4, 2015, 6:49 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2015, 11:27 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

TRENTON – Aspiring teachers will face tougher standards to enter the profession under revised rules that the state Board of Education adopted on Wednesday.

In one of the biggest changes, the board voted to require students to do 175 hours of clinical work in a classroom setting before they start their full semester of student teaching.

Education Commissioner David Hespe said the state was answering a “clear call to action” to help students by helping their teachers.

“In particular, we know that hands-on experiences are invaluable in preparing teachers, and not all candidates have been getting enough of that time in the classroom,” he said. “Providing more of these experiences will lead to better prepared teachers, which in turn leads to increased student achievement.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-changes-certification-requirements-for-teachers-1.1448445

Posted on

Ridgewood teachers rally as contract talks continue

Ridgewood_BOE_theridgewoodblog

OCTOBER 30, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

A teachers’ rally took place Monday outside the Education Center.

The event occurred just before Michael Yannone, president of the Ridgewood Education Association (REA), entered the building to commence the second and potentially final negotiating session with a mediator present between the REA and the Ridgewood Board of Education.

“This is a sign of unity for the negotiating team that’s about to walk in there,” Yannone said at the event. “As a member of that team, I greatly appreciate this.”

Ridgewood Board of Education President Sheila Brogan said while a settlement wasn’t reached at the meeting, “The board understands the teachers’ wish for a settlement. We too want to settle the contract.

“We had a positive dialogue, but were unable to settle the contract,” she said. “The fact finder spent the evening talking with both sides and decided to move the process to a formal fact-finding hearing.”

According to Brogan, the fact finder is scheduled to return to Ridgewood on Feb. 3.

“At the hearing, he will listen to both sides and issue a non-binding opinion in an attempt to settle the contract, she said.

“Moving forward, the board’s negotiating team is willing to meet with the REA’s team to resolve issues and settle the contract.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/rea-rallies-as-talks-continue-1.1444781

Posted on

Ridgewood Schools : Is too much technology good for the classroom?

abacus2

Is too much technology good for the classroom?

OCTOBER 23, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print

Is technology helping or hurting in the classroom?

To the Editor:

As a district, we have enthusiastically embraced technology in our schools. And it is certainly understandable why. With technology came the promise of improved educational outcomes for our children, and a greater chance for success competing in the 21st century global economy.

But parents are beginning to question the validity of this promise: Are children really learning more? Is their reading comprehension improving? What about their math ability?

Now, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a 200-page study, concluding that investing heavily in classroom technology does not improve student performance, and, in fact, frequent use of computers is more likely to be associated with lower results. For math, the study found that almost any time spent on the computer leads to poorer performance.

Internationally, the best-performing education systems, such as those in East Asia, have been very cautious about using technology in the classroom. Countries with the highest level of Internet use in schools either experienced significant declines in reading performance or stagnated.

Because of my earlier career developing software for IBM, I am acutely aware of the limitations of technology and certainly not bedazzled by it. Now I tutor math for the SAT, so I get to hear unfiltered reports of students’ experiences with technology.

Some teachers, apparently, require students take notes on their Chromebooks, even though some prefer to take notes by hand, because they believe they learn better that way. Research supports these students’ preferences; taking notes by hand results in deeper learning.

Chromebooks in the classroom frequently cause distractions because some students play games during class.

Textbooks are increasingly online, even though many students would prefer to have good paper textbooks, because they are easier to read.

There also appears to be a tendency on the part of some teachers to delegate to the computer the task of teaching, so there’s less interaction between student and teacher. Students do best in close human-to-human contact. The research supports this.

It’s interesting: the students who complain most about technology in the schools are strong students, those most interested in learning.

I think we might want to consider why the executives and employees of the top Silicon Valley firms send their kids to schools that have no technology in the early grades, absolutely none, and when it is introduced in eighth grade, it is used sparingly. It should give us pause to hear that the innovators developing these products refuse to expose their own children’s minds to them. Their thinking is that technology interferes with creativity, and young minds learn best through movement, hands-on tasks and human-to-human interaction.

The OECD report now gives us solid data linking frequent computer use in school to declining academic performance. In September, we learned that – nationally – students in the high school class of 2015 turned in the lowest critical reading score on the SAT in more than 40 years. The average score on the math portion of the SAT was the lowest since 1999.

Marlene Burton

Ridgewood

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-is-too-much-technology-good-for-the-classroom-1.1439450

Posted on

Exchange between Ridgewood school board, REA is troubling

Ridgewood_BOE_theridgewoodblog

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

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-union-boe-exchanges-are-troubling-1.1439295

Posted on

Ridgewood BOE addresses Raising Teacher Healthcare Costs

cottage_place BOE_theridgewioodblog

The following letter appeared in The Ridgewood News on October 16, 2015.

To the Editor: At our October 5th Board of Education meeting and in last week’s letters to the editor, several of our teachers voiced opposition to the employee healthcare premium contributions phased in over the last four years under state law, known as Chapter 78. We would like to clarify the information on the healthcare contribution. The rates by which Ridgewood teachers contribute to their individual healthcare premiums is determined by a graduated structure, with employees at higher end of salary grades paying a greater percentage of their individual premiums than those at the lower end.
The highest paid teachers contribute 35 percent of their plans’ premiums while the lowest paid teachers pay 12 percent. The contribution level of 35 percent is applied to salaries of $95,000 and above when the employee has single coverage and $110,000 and above when the employee chooses family coverage. The majority of our teachers are enrolled in the School Employee Health Benefits Plan NJ Direct 10. At present, premiums are $10,610 for single coverage and $29,177 for family coverage.
The teacher who earns $95,000 and has single coverage would contribute $3,713 and a teacher earning $110,000 enrolled in the family plan would contribute $10,212. This year the total health insurance premium cost for the REA members is $10,228,960. Of that amount, they contribute $2,628,843. The net health insurance cost to the district is $7,600,117. With insurance premiums increasing annually, sometimes dramatically, controlling the growth of health care costs is challenging for all employers, in both the public and private sectors.
With the legislated 2 percent cap on property tax increases, keeping the school district’s overall costs within the cap is particularly challenging when cost drivers such as healthcare grow at a rate in excess of 2 percent. This year, the district offered employees 20 different plans through the School Employee Health Benefit Plan. Some of these plans have lower premiums. With lower premiums, the amount spent on insurance and the contribution cost would decrease.
The Board respects our teachers and appreciates the work they do. We share their concerns about rising healthcare costs as well as the increasing demands brought about by state mandates and our collective efforts to improve and update our curricula and programs. We know that through their great work our students thrive and our school district is well respected. Our appreciation is demonstrated in their compensation. Our teachers’ average salary of $82,500 is near the top of all Bergen County districts, while our starting salary of $55,693 for a first-year teacher with a Bachelors of Arts degree is at the very top (based upon collective bargaining agreements on file at the New Jersey School Board Association). Currently, 107 of our 520 teachers earn $100,000 or more. As stated at the Board meeting, our negotiating team is willing to meet with the REA team to settle the contract.
Ridgewood Board of Education
Sheila Brogan, President Vincent Loncto, Vice President Christina Krauss Jim Morgan Jennie Smith Wilson