July 22, 2016
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.
This is like a visit to the Wizard of Oz.Educators look out into they world you educate our young people about.So many with a mediocre job after
Downsizing by the major corporations.SETTLE NOW..or ridgewood should withdraw the offer and go to replacement of these employees.
SETTLE NOW, REA! And thank you Mr. Yannone for reducing yourself and the rank and file to zero credibility.
7:47 states it perfectly. REA and the teachers are living in a fantasy land. It will not be hard to find replacements to work in our schools.
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.
Teacher hate? Really 10:45, stop with the union thug tactics.
10.45. So I guess 102 million plus per year is not enough to keep the teachers and administrators fat and happy.Those days of take it or leave it by Unions are done.We won’t pay ransom to you any longer.Go shop for a job on Wall Street teaching Bio or American History,with a pension forever after 20 years..that’s the Wizard of Oz union factor.
Begging your pardon 11:09, 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?
You need to wake up 11:50. Wanting a deal that is fair for taxpayers has nothing to do with disrespecting teachers. Stop trying to cloud the issue.
“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”
I do not have a negative sentiment or speak negatively but I do believe that the teachers should settle. I believe for the current economic climate we live in they are very fairly compensated with an AMAZING and CHEAP healthcare plan most private sector families would love. The most recent offer is 1.1% increase RETROACTIVELY, 2.8 (what the fact finder offered) going forward. They should take it or quit and try teaching in Paterson. I DO believe the BOE in their statement that they have hundreds of resumes from which to choose replacements.
With regard to support, to me it seems very mixed but the obvious support is lacking. Show me a lawn sign and I will show you that a teacher lives within 50 feet of that sign.
11:40, if you read the fact finders report, you would know that the REA requests can be accomplished within the budget.. The BOE is disregarding the results of the non-partisan assessment of the financial facts. It is this issue that is the crux of all the angst. The budget is adequate, how it is being appropriated is the concern.Why the BOE is refusing to compromise, despite having the ability to do so as well as vehemently denying that they can,
is baffling.
11:50.. Then why of all the negative, criticizing comments. Can you honestly say that there is no way to express the desire for an equitable solution without bad-mouthing the teachers?
“you would know that the REA requests can be accomplished within the budget..”Yes indeed. Tell us, at 12:50, what did the fact finder recommending cutting to fund the increases? Why should we trust the opinion of one person when the board is unanimous in their opinion that those cuts would be more detrimental to students? Lastly, why is full day k even on the table right now? Tax increases to fund it when the current teachers are not funded yet? Where is the REA on that?
Quote from a teacher I know. “We know the money is there and we know that the tax payers will come up with it”. Until the tax payers prove that statement wrong we’re doomed to be held hostage by it.
@1:35 well you are right about that. It’s been said here and elsewhere that the BOE can go through the 2% due to healthcare costs,etc. Fortunately to date the BOE has taken it completely off the table. They know we will be raising taxes for school if the November referendum passes for full day-k. I am sure many residents would pay more, heck the difference does seem small when spread out among taxpayers. But at the end of the day, I turn around and look at how high our taxes are already (with the highest paid teachers and shrinking poll rankings) and feel that the time has come to stand firm.
“The budget is adequate, how it is being appropriated is the concern…” Says 12:50. Gee, I hope $102 million a year is adequate, that’s over a billion in the next ten years. But many, many residents disagree with the REA’s bad faith negotiations on how it should be appropriated. Just because you think it should go towards subsidizing your cheap “platinum” health benefits and above property tax cap annual wage increases does not mean that’s s fair deal for taxpayers who want more of the budget spent on our students and enriching their education. If I was on the BOE I’d be demanding under 2% annual increases, downgrade to “bronze” level benefits, use it or lose it sick leave, and a shift to defined contribution pension plans for all new employees. The latest July 20 BOE offer is still too generous in my opinion.
1:10, you pose two excellent questions. The fact-finer impartially determined that using breakage would suffice in covering increases in salaries. “In the case at hand, the evidence strongly suggests that a moderate amount of flexibility in the budget will be produced by breakage that is fairly consistent and substantial in this District’s recent history. The fiscal flexibility associated with breakage will have to be used in part for the compensation package herein.” It is his sole job to listen to the facts and return with a suggestion that is equitable by all. Why wouldn’t one want to listen to what he has to say?
As for full day kindergarten, this initiative was implemented the BOE and is totally out of the heads of the REA.
Finder
Hands… Sorry for thr typos….the mind is willing but apparently spell check is not .
@3:46, thanks for responding. As you know the board very publicly disputes that breakage is available. Without everyone examining books line by line, it is hard to say if they are right and fact finder wrong or vice versa.
I personally would not support increasing taxes over 2% to fund increases so do hope they “find” money available somewhere.
4:11 as a Ridgewood taxpayer I could not agree more. I don’t want my taxes to increase anymore then they have to!
Thank you BOE! You and we are the majority! I am so proud of you for not settling and kicking the can once again! Your offers have been more than fair and so is $10 co-pays to $15. Wake up Unions it’s 2016 most of the teachers are willing to settle now Like all of Congress maybe we should wipe them all out and start anew…1,100 new teacher applicants, how many teachers do we need again? I support the BOE 100% and so appreciate you all NOT settling. If Trump wins the Unions, Lobbyists. and Golden Parachute retiree payouts may end? Why are so many cops retiring? So afraid they will change their benefits before they can get out. Think about that one teachers! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
The higher the base salaries go, the greater the base effect in three years…. 2.8% on $100K is a $2,800 annual increase, whereas 1.8% on $100K is $1,800… the BOE needs to hold its ground, pro-rated 12 month salaries & benefits for teachers are better than those of the median household in Ridgewood, and the REA still cannot answer why their members deserve better health plan benefits than the taxpayers subsidizing their “platinum” coverage.
Why is the $100,000. salary generally posted as the typical teacher salary? A Ridgewood teacher would need to hold a Masters degree plus 30 additional graduate credits plus have 17 years experience to earn a salary of 100k. Additionally, if the facts were accurate, any salary increase is applied to a scattergram and the money is appropriated according to a specific formula across the board. It is not a blanket 2.8% or 1.8% on each and every teachers salary. Some teachers see more of an increase than others, some stay flat.
Just stop 9:37, you don’t think people in the private sector understand “meritocracy”? What we truly don’t understand is “tenure” for underperforming – and in many cases – over the hill teachers, many just rising out their last years before the average TPAF retirement age of 62, on a lifetime pension with lifetime health plan benefits. There are 1,100 applicants to replace these tenured thugs in our schools. We can hire educators that actually WANT to work with our kids instead of argue for a year about annual wage increases and health benefit co-pays of $15. Ridgewood residents are being taxed to death to pay for this, and you literally don’t care. Somehow you think you deserve above inflation and above property tax cap average annual wage increases, and better healthcare than the taxpayers who are subsidizing your “platinum” coverage. Shame on you 9:37. Shame on there REA and the full-time NJEA lawyers and lobbyists advising you. The REA is negotiating with our volunteer BOE in bad faith, with dirty tricks like your “scattergram” mumbo jumbo above. #stoptryingtomuddythewaters, #taxed to death, #union-thugs
12:46. Scatter gram Mumbo jumbo, tenured thugs, seriously? Shame on you! It seems whenever there is a post that provides the honest to goodness facts as to what the REA is requesting, what it means in actual dollars, and how it affects taxpayers and teachers alike, the name calling and occurs. The BOE members are well educated people who are aware of the mumbo jumbo you allude to and understand how it applies to a salary increase. The issues you refer to : tenure, pension, lifetime health benefits(which actually no longer exist because of Gov. Christies law) are not at all part of the negotiations. These things are state mandated and would need to be dealt with at the state level and not with the BOE. Lobbying for a year to halt continuing decreasing take-home pay is not a crime. Teacher take home pay is less them it was 6 years ago and will only continue to decrease as healthcare costs increase. As for not caring about the taxpayer, you are wrong… I am Ridgewood tax payer too and suffer just like you when the rates increase.?
2:46, don’t you realize median Ridgewood families’ take home pay is less than was 6 years ago and will only continue to decrease as healthcare costs and commuter and gasoline taxes increase? What makes teachers so special they can’t make $15 co-pays? Why do you deserve “platinum” level health benefits when most private sector coverage is “bronze” equivalent? Correct me if I’m wrong, but the teachers’ union was a big proponent of Obamacare. But now you want taxpayers to bear even more of the cost because teachers deserve more take home pay than the rest of us? Seriously, time for a reality check!
eleven hundred applicants applied for open teaching positions with the Ridgewood BoE in the last twelve months and the REA has leverage here?
The REA just wants more money taken from the students and extracurriculars 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?
2:46, I think you’ve conveniently ignored the fact you will also get a lifetime defined benefit pension (average TPAF retirement age is 62) and lifetime subsidized “platinum” health plan benefit for you and your family worth $28,000 a year with only $10 co-pays… So paying Ridgewood tax rate increases actually offers benefits for you to help fund these costs in your retirement. Don’t make it sound like you’re suffering here, shame on you.
2:46, 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.”
Stop acting like union thugs and realize that you have a good deal on the table. A note to all the hard-working, decent teachers: tell your leadership to cut the bulls**t. They are serving themselves and the NJEA/NEA while throwing you under the bus.
Why should I be ashamed for investing my career in a long standing, long accepted state mandated program? I do not need to apologize for choosing something that has long been the standard. If things need to be changed than so be it…. but from now forward. Hire new teachers who will knowingly accept salary and benefits packages. Grandfather teachers who have played by the rules, followed the plan, accepted the limited salaries early in their careers.