Tag: Teachers contract

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Ridgewood Board of Education Details New NEA Teachers Contract

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October 10, 2016

Dear members of the Ridgewood community:

Tonight the Board of Education (Board) formally approved the three- year contract with the Ridgewood Education Association (REA) that was ratified by the REA on September 28th.

Highlights of the contract include the following:

•Term:3 Years: July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2018.
•Salaries: A 1% increase for the first year of the contract (2015-16). For 2016-17 and 2017-18, salary increases of 2.7% per year, inclusive of the cost of the incremental movement (vertical step movement) on the salary guides. That is equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of 2.13% over the life of the contract. Importantly, the approved contract assures that our salaries will continue to be competitive, allowing our district to attract and retain highly qualified teachers.
•Health Benefits: Current REA members may continue to enroll in NJ Direct 10 or in any of the 20 plans offered by the state under the School Employee Health Benefit Plans (SEHBP). Employees hired on or after September 12, 2016 may not enroll in NJ Direct 10 before reaching tenure, but instead shall enroll in the NJ Direct 15 or any other state-offered school employee medical plan.
•Chapter 78 Health Benefit Employee Contributions : 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.
Effective January 1, 2017, full-time teachers will pay between 14% and 26% of the premium cost for their medical, prescription and dental benefits; full-time secretaries will pay between 10% and 14% of the total premium cost.As an
example, using an 8.6% increase for the 2017 NJ Direct 10 premiums, teachers enrolling in single coverage would contribute between $1,635(14%) and $3,036 (26%) for the year. Teachers choosing family coverage would contribute between $4,676 (14%) and $8,684 (26%). According to the latest Kaiser Family 2016 survey, the average U.S. worker pays $1,129 peryear for single (employee-only) medical coverage and $5,277 for dependent/family medical coverage.

Last May, the state -appointed fact finder recommended a settlement that would have cost the District $4.4 million over the 2% cap during the life of the three- year contract. The Board rejected this recommendation, believing that the fact finder ignored the district’s ability to fund his suggested settlement.
The contract approved today reduced this excess by almost half to $2.5 million over the 2% cap.The Board and administration are now tasked with the challenge of funding the contract, which will require budgetary reductions next year that will result in changes to staffing and programming. While it would be unrealistic to expect that a spending reduction of this magnitude will be without consequences to the district, when preparing the 2017- 18 budget the Board will work closely with Dr.Fishbein to identify reductions that will have the least impact on the instructional programs and extra-curricular offerings. Notwithstanding the upcoming challenges, we are pleased to be moving forward and are confident that the 2016- 17 school year will be successful as we all focus on what unites us as a community, the education of our children and our excellent schools.
Ridgewood Board of Education
Sheila Brogan, President
Vince Loncto, Vice President
Christina Krauss
Jim Morgan
Jennie Smith Wilson
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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.

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Ridgewood Board Of Education Hold the Line on Teachers Contract

REA Members come out to greet our Board of Ed

Ridgewood Board of Ed Statement:

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”.

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Teachers Union and Supporters Continue to Attack Ridgewood Residents

REA, ridgewoood teachers

Teacher supporter claims :

Average private sector wage increases for 2015 were above 3%. Pay raises for people with college degrees are fairing even better than that. Are there people who aren’t seeing wage increases? Yes. But perhaps that says something about the person or the job rather than the economy.
Teachers have been taking home less money each year for a number of years.
Teachers will never get bonuses, no matter how good the economy gets.
Teachers will never get company cars, club memberships, or any other perks that are seen in the private sector.
Teachers will NEVER get anything more than a mediocre pay raise because of the 2% cap.
So when teachers fight for the scraps from the table it shouldn’t be a surprise.

Do you really want to devalue the profession to the point that nobody will ever want to be a teacher? There is already a teacher shortage, which will only get worse.

But keep up with the lies about teachers who don’t care. Teachers who earn $200,000 a year. Teachers who won’t write recommendations. Teachers who only work 181 days a year. Teachers who only care about taking from taxpayers while doing nothing. Keep up with these lies and tell the potential future teachers that it is not the best career path. Why would anyone subject themselves to such outright lies and hatred?

Reader responds …..What planet are you on???? Private sector wage increases above 3%??? Please provide your source because no one I know got more 3%. I got 1.5% after 4 years of 0%. My wife got 2% after getting .5% last year and 0% fand additional 4 years. Really, name your source. Everyone is taking home less and bonuses have shrunken. There are no company car, club memberships, expensive meals, expense accounts, perks. Keep lying dear teacher. There is no teacher shortage in Ridgewood; I can assure you that you can be replaced on a moments notice.

Perks? I guess if you define 12-14 hour days 12 months a year, putting hours on the weekend, long commutes, conference calls with other parts of the world at 2am, being “penalized for taking sick or personal time, skyhigh contributions to marginal healthcare perks, then I am lucky.

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Reader says many parents feel intimidated by these Ridgewood teachers

REA, ridgewoood teachers

We have fought against Valley and garages and numerous other issues in this town. It is time to fight for our children, but so many parents feel intimidated by these teachers. They will be marching in their red outside before you go into the meeting. They have put us down. They tell us we are not educated that we don’t know the facts. The FACT is that we can not open our mouths because as soon as we do, you crush our opinion. We all see the signs around town, but maybe the teachers and the BOE should be looking at the how many houses don’t have signs…Unfortunately only two scenarios exist…the first the contract is settled which means the BOE gave into the bullying tactics of our teachers and unions. The only benefit to us is our children won’t be punished anymore…The second scenario is the contract doesn’t get signed in which case we will be living through hell. The disrespect these teachers have shown the students and parents is unacceptable. The days of teacher appreciation are over.

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Ridgewood Board of Education Meets on June 6 at 7:30 p.m. at BFMS Auditorium

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BOE Meets on June 6 at 7:30 p.m. at BFMS Auditorium

June 5,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, June 6, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

The Regular Public Meeting, originally scheduled to be held in the Board Room at the Education Center, will begin at 7:30 p.m., in the Auditorium at Benjamin Franklin Middle School.  Action will be taken at this meeting.

 The public is invited to attend the meeting at BFMS or view it live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the  the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.

Click here to view the agenda for the June 6, 2016  Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the 2016-2017 Budget presented at the May 2, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the Full Day Kindergarten Recommendation presented to the Board at their March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the backup for the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.
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Ridgewood Board of Education and Superintendent to host a Coffee this Evening

Dan Fishbein 10
May 24,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Superintendent and Board Host Coffee and Conversation on May 24

Ridgewood NJ , The Board of Education and Superintendent will host residents for Coffee and Conversation on Tuesday, May 24. The public is invited to drop in at the Education Center at 49 Cottage Place, floor 3 between 7 and 8:30 p.m. to ask questions and share suggestions and concerns.

2016-2017 School Budget Information
Click here to view the 2016-2017 User Friendly Budget.
Click here to look at a 2016-2017 budget summary sheet.
Click here to view the latest information on the budget, updated on May 2, 2016.

Dr. Fishbein Recommends Full-day Kindergarten
On March 7, Dr. Fishbein presented a recommendation to the Board on bringing full-day Kindergarten to Ridgewood. His proposal is to fund a full-day program through a tax increase approved by voters this November in a second question. The consensus of the Board is to proceed with this recommendation.

Click here to read the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.

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Ridgewood Teachers Contract : Do it fir da Kids?

Ridgewood EA teachers protest

May 21,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog has posted verbatim from the Ridgewood Education Association’s Facebook page . We have also included a link to the BOE’s Fact finding Presentation .

Click here to read the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.

Here is a summary of the issues surrounding the lack of contract for our association (REA).

“The REA has been working under the terms of an expired contract as of July 1, 2015, negotiations commenced in February 2015. The major issues in our negotiations remain the cost of health contributions teachers will pay, health coverage, and salary.

Employee health contributions are mandated by the state and can not be negotiated away. The law that covers contributions states that once teachers have contributed for four years, and are at the end of a contract, the rate of contribution is then negotiable. Ridgewood is one of the first districts in this position. The rate of contribution is determined by your salary, simply the more money you make the more you are forced to contribute. The average teacher pays 27% of the premium with our most senior teachers paying 35%. This is burdensome on our experienced staff as the increase in contribution is greater than any increase in salary. We are seeking to lower contribution levels.

Salary. We are seeking the county average for salary increase.

Health Coverage. We wish to retain our current options within the state health plan, which is the plan the BOE bargained last round of negotiations. Our willingness to change to the state plan saved the district over a million dollars. It is our contention that Ridgewood’s teachers deserve stability in their health coverage. In addition, the savings achieved in the last round of negotiations combined with the several million dollars contributed by teachers towards that coverage is a significant amount – enough to settle this contract and continue programming.

These issues are not insurmountable and the REA has been willing to engage the BOE in creative means to address the needs of both parties. The larger issue is that the BOE keeps changing their needs. We believe this BOE has no desire to settle a contract:
-At the Sept. 21, 2015 BOE Meeting the Board set their goals for the school year. Goal #3 states: “The Board will continue to negotiate with the REA to settle a new contract.” Their goal is to merely “continue to negotiate”, not settle a contract. When this was brought up by the REA at the meeting BOE Member Vince Loncto stated he saw no problem with the language. Also, why is this the third goal of four? Shouldn’t it be a higher priority?
At the March 23, 2015 meeting the BOE passed a unanimous resolution asking the NJ State Legislature to remove collective bargaining rights for teachers.
-BOE Member Jim Morgan, a member of the Board’s negotiating team, stated in an email sent to the REA: “We can’t impose a contract and the teachers can’t strike. We are therefore left with either just giving up and living with the status quo forever or discussing the issues again. … Like a recalcitrant child, we need to repeat the mantra that ‘the District does not have the money to meet your demands without canceling other educational programs.’” This is their tactic in their own words – act recalcitrant.
-In next year’s school budget the district has allotted $1,592,255 for technology; as well as additional moneys for three new curriculum initiatives next year.
-The BOE keeps changing their position at the table making it impossible for the REA to ever meet them. On March 21, 2016 we presented the Board with a counter proposal. Our counter proposal would cost the Board, over three years, LESS than their proposal, but they refused.
-Ridgewood Board of Education has shown disrespect for the State appointed Fact Finder. They purposely violated procedures by including discussions not entered as evidence at the hearing and misrepresenting the REA’s position in their Fact Finding brief that was submitted to the Fact Finder. Their published brief does not represent their position from the formal Fact Finding hearing. They then doubled-down by making the highly unusual decision to make their report public before the Fact Finder had finished his report in an attempt to intimidate and influence his decision.

Why has this impasse gone on so long? Could it be because this impasse doesn’t affect the Ridgewood Board of Education? Four of the five BOE members do not have children in our schools. One member elects to send her youngest child to a private high school. What do they care if teachers feel disrespected by their actions, if morale is at an all-time low? Their children already graduated and went to great schools. They have nothing at stake – but hopefully the parents and residents of this community will tell this Board of Education that they have a job to do, they need to settle this contract.”

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Ridgewood BOE and REA meet with ‘a good exchange’

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BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD – Despite protracted negotiations with the Ridgewood Education Association (REA), Board of Education (BOE) President Sheila Brogan announced Monday night that a contract settlement still had not been reached between the two sides.

Brogan explained that she and Trustee Jim Morgan met with REA negotiators Mike Yannone and Laura Grasso over the past few days, having “a good exchange,” but that nothing had been agreed upon.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/sides-meet-with-a-good-exchange-1.1533185

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Ridgewood Board of Education Meeting tonight at 7:30pm !

Ridgewood_BOE_theridgewoodblog

BOARD UPDATES

BOE-REA Negotiations
Click here to view an analysis of “Unused Funds’ identified by the REA during Fact Finding Proceedings, presented at the March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, which appeared in the paper on March 4, 2016.

Click here to read the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.

Click here to view the backup for the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.

BOE Meets on March 21 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, March 21, 2016 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.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 March 21, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the Full Day Kindergarten Recommendation presented to the Board at their March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

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The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, February 8, 2016

BOE_theridgewoodblog
BOARD UPDATES

BOE-REA Negotiations
Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, which appeared in the paper on January 29, 2016.

BOE Meets on February 8 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, February 8, 2016 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.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 January 25, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the minutes of the December 21, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.

Click here to view the minutes of the January 4, 2016 Reorganization/Regular Public Meeting.

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Chaperone Problems at 6th grade overnight Camp at BFMS

BF_middle-school_theridgewoodblog
September 4,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , Just got word that teachers are not willing to chaperone due to contact not being signed.
Ridgewood Parents are outraged! The Camp will be daycamp instead of overnight.

 The Ridgewood BOE had previously issued this statement on the contract talks with the REA , “The Board and the REA will continue to negotiate with each other in good faith in a respectful manner.” . We guess the teachers didn’t get the memo.