The B-REA has posted a document entitled Truth: Setting The Record Straight - A Message To Parents From The Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association. Click on this link to view the article - http://b-rea.org/2012/05/12/truth-setting-the-record-straight/

WATCH VIDEO: See what people are telling the Board of Education – http://b-rea.org/portfolio-items/john-shanager/

5 million cost is over 3 years, the cost savings would be roughly 2M per year, giving the board 1million. That does not even include the fact that employees will be required to contribute an additional 1M per year as health care contributions. The BOE should have an extra 3-4 million over the course of the contracts. Get it done.

The BREA is willing to negotiate a tutorial period at the high school; however the BOE is impeding negotiations by not budging on salary issues. $10.4 million in employee health care contributions over the next 3 years will more than cover the $5 million.

No magic tricks needed for funding... all the BOE has to do is use some of the $10+ million that comes from health care contributions.
-2011-2012: $1.4 million (could have been $2.4 million if the BOE had switched to state health care when the BREA wanted to)
-2012-2013: $3.8 million
-2013-2014: $5.2 million

You wouldn't have an increase in taxes. You just wouldn't receive a rebate of approximately $25. Most towns don't rebate their taxpayers!!!! just saying...

Your contention in item#3 is not correct. The teaching and support staff DID NOT VOLUNTARILY open up the contract. I was at the board meetings where speaker after speaker implored the union to recognize that the economic conditions had changed. The taxpayers were not willing to accept a huge tax increase so that the teachers could continue to receive what they were promised in sunnier times. The budget was defeated. It was only after the union realized that they were at the losing side of this debate did they agree to open up the contract.

The teacher give backs happened before the budget was defeated. And these concessions were NOT forced, it was democratically voted.

IMO.... The original budget should have been put to a vote before the teacher concessions were considered. It is the townships obligation to vote and express their feeling for what they could afford before you ask the employees to pay for what they work for.

If this town decides it cannot afford the budget, then this town will have to give up some of the perks that Bridgewater-Raritan have to offer.... at a much cheaper tax rate than Sommerville and other comparable districts.

teachB-R : You kidding me. Is it your position that the teachers would have made the concessions if the town residents were not so vehemently opposed to the BREA position ? I might have my sequence of events mixed up, but at the BOE sessions statements were made by the Board in the presence of BREA officers that the BREA had refused to open up their contract to look for savings.

A BR Parent: No, only Spongebob would give his paycheck back to his employer without being forced or hard pressed. The teachers of the state of New Jersey were being attacked from the Governor himself. This mentality that teachers make too much and cost too much and need to take a pay freeze or give up elements of their salary became the Republican cry. But still, the BREA could have stood its ground and said NO to making concessions. With a contract in place, which the BOE and BREA had previously negotiated the terms of that contract to be fair throughout the three years of that contract no concessions needed to be made.

Due to the notion that education in New Jersey is a tax payers burden and that the teachers were to blame because of their huge salaries, the BREA did feel hard pressed and democratically voted to open up the contract, thus volunteering to give back money which contractually was theirs.

So, yes there was pressure to make concessions... but these concessions were NOT forced or imposed.... like the changes recently made to the health, dental, and prescription plans.

Way to go. I second every sentiment in the above post.
If the teachers think that the BWTR tax rates are low and the residents can afford to pony up some more, why don't all the teachers move to Bridgewater and increase the tax base ? They will then come face to face with reality.

When the district needed more money, the teachers willingly opened their contracts and gave money back to the district. The BREA had offered to take pay freezes. The teachers aren't your enemy here. They're expected to do their jobs for the benefit of your kids, while their own kids suffer. And still, that's something they are willingly doing.

Did you email your high schooler's teacher and ask why he was correcting his own Scantron? Was the machine broken? Was he reviewing the answers? Before assuming the worst, maybe you should get the whole story....and not just about that test.

Are you sure the teacher heard the name-calling? Although they do hear and see much more than the kids expect, I don't know if they have super powers. That being said, what did you say to the child? Obviously, you are part of the school community since you were there. How did you fix the situation?

Finally, I think you may be exaggerating that the teachers are talking about negotiations in front of the students. Teachers may be telling students that they aren't as available as they always have been, but that's also because a lot of teachers are working part time jobs after school. Maybe their schedule isn't as flexible as it was before. Usually, the teachers arrange their schedules around their students. Maybe they aren't able to do that as much anymore. Did you email these "whining" teachers or just save your comments for a public forum?

First of all teachers are special! And they should be treated with much more respect. Teachers are helping to cultivate and enrich the minds of the next generation that will be running this country. Teachers have one of the most important jobs. All the BR teachers are asking for is a FAIR settlement. Nothing else, just FAIR. I do not understand the mentality of 'I dont have, so no one else should either'. That is childish and immature thinking. The teachers are not lead to believe that they are entitled to everything under the sun, again they just want what is fair. And trust me every single teacher I know is more than thankful to have a job. And every teacher I know truely loves what they do. They would not stick to this profession if they did not love it. It is not an easy job. Most new teachers leave the profession after 5 years because it is not easy. Those that stick with it work damn HARD! Is a fair settelment too much to ask for?! BR teachers are asking for fair sttlement that will not increase the tax burden!! How can you argue that? Also money is going to books, programs, and bringing back teachers, and there is still money, LOTS of money left that could be used for a FAIR settlement. AND REALLY?! Teachers that got let go did not get 'stabbed' in the back. There was no promise that jobs would be saved if teachers took a pay freeze, instead teachers gave back $1.6 million. Which went to save many things in this district.

Maybe parents should stop sending children to school who learn the "R" word at home is acceptable to use!!! I am a teacher and a mother of a child who is cognitively disabled. The "R" word in my classroom is as bad as a curse word and is treated the same. You have no idea how the teacher handled the situation after you walked away. And to add to this topic, you have no idea how many PARENTS have sat across the conference table from me in the past eight years and used the "R" word at our parent/teacher conference. And you have no idea that when I call parents to tell them their child used that word, often the response is, "Is that it?" The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.

Schilder independently negotiated his salary behind closed doors with the BOE. This was not a public negotiation and most of the teachers weren't aware of what happened until after the contract was signed. The BOE decided not to make that public because they knew it would cause uproar as with the current teacher negotiations. As a taxpayer, I'm adamantly upset over the choice of tactics in each negotiation. Publically fighting with the teachers and utilizing an expensive lawyer after pushing through HUGE increases to the top earners just before the state mandated salary cap. (Rich get richer… middleclass is told they are rich and don’t deserve anything else.)

The current BREA offer is to maintain the current salary guide rather than having to create a new salary guide where each step makes less money on top of the loss in salary for health benefits. In previous contracts teachers would move up a step on the guide as well as move to a new salary guide showing a cost of living increase. The BREA already agrees to not have a cost of living guide. Although, to give credit to all teachers (with less than 18yrs experience) for time served, the salary allotment requires a 2.85% increase. The BREA has moved towards the middle of the negotiations.

I don't know one teacher complaining in front of children. Quite the contrary!!! My students are constantly complaining about what they "use to have" compared to now. Of course they are looking for the material things. It breaks my heart that I cannot afford to bring them all of the extras I spent my own money on. After all, you can't squeeze blood from a rock.

False, BREA negotiators are not all HS teachers. There are people on the negotiations team from all grade levels, teachers and support staff, many of them are no where near the top of the pay scale. What the teachers are asking for is a fair settlement, that would not increase the tax burden.

In response to you're "don't let the door hit you in the rear end on the way out" comment I would like to say this. As a taxpayer you knew what you were going to be paying when you moved to Bridgewater, if your taxes have gone up since you moved (and I'm sure they have) then I'm sure you have made note of this change. If you don't like living in Bridgewater and think the taxes are too high for the services you receive and the education your children get/got then just like the teachers, you have the choice to move. No one is forcing you to stay in Bridgewater and pay the taxes, you're choosing to. Don't let the door hit you in the rear end on the way out.

Mr. Had Enough, why should I now feel bad for your situation? When I taught in the 80's and the economy was excellent I heard over and over that, "You can't compare the private sector with the public. That is like comparing apples to oranges." I have been living in "reality" and I find it very degrading that you use that phrase. I am a homeowner and, as a result, a tax payer. I work a second job already. Now I am suppose to compare myself to the private sector and just roll over? When things get better for you, I can just imagine that you will come to my home and offer me a few extra bucks.

Mr. Had Enough,

Thank you...but you better watch out! Metoo is going to come after you about your spelling errors because he/she doesn't have anything intelligent to say.

You're right, the grass isn't greener, they're not more special than our kids OR us and everyone, teachers, administrators, BOE and parents alike, have ALL been pointing fingers and showing bad behavior...myself included.

It's also not lost on me that the word "entitled" has now been replaced with the word "fair". I want what's fair for everyone...and that includes my kids, my tax bill, the seniors or people who don't have children in the school system anymore and the teachers as well. The bottom line is you can't squeeze blood from a rock. Period.

Mr. had Enough, can you please avoid the cursing. it doesn't make you look good, Your points may be taken more seriously if you keep your comments out of the sewer. Afterall, you are not 16 years old. Bwater Mom, I pay taxes and will never have children go through the schools. People often forget there are many of us that will pay taxes to the schools and will never have a child to send. So I can't say I feel too bad for people who's children are out of school.

Also, Mr. Had Enough, the BREA is not proposing a big enough increase in salary for everyone to get a raise. I am one of the disrespectfull teachers that will get NO increase from what the BREA is asking. You need to know your facts.

Great idea, Mr. Had Enough. Teachers should read a 15-year-old book and discuss it's deep meaning...and cope. Better yet, let's evaluate teachers based on the performance of every child they teach. Click on the link below to see how much that makes sense.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2012/03/evaluating_teachers_based_on_s.html

The purpose of the book is to distract workers from the obvious. The underpaid and the downsized are urged to just pick up and find opportunity elsewhere, without questioning the overall circumstance - as if God Himself stole the cheese all the whilst fat cat CEO's paying themselves astronomical salaries while exporting jobs to India and China.

Here's a better ending: The two mice, Hurry and Scurry, who uncomplainingly went looking for new cheese, are now on their third McJob in three years. Hurry is now a barista at Starbucks. Scurry is a nurses' aide. They share an two-room apartment in Brooklyn with a couple of other underemployed mice, since none of them can afford rent on his own. Haw, the more enterprising of the two 'littlepeople,' has been temping for a while. The hourly wage is good, but he's worried, because he has no health benefits, and his 401(k) is in the tank. The grudging, resentful Hem, having been convinced by Fox News that the federal government is at fault, has joined the Littlepeople Militia. They are stockpiling guns and chemical fertilizer.

Toni,
While, of course our taxes pay for "other municipal employees and services", they are not the ones assembling in front of our schools, in front of our children. They're not the ones crying foul. They're not the ones saying they're special and entitled.
The Bridgewater Police Department is working down six men and wasn't it just announced in this publication that those positions won't be filled? Why is that? Could it possibly be because it's not in the darn budget???????
And I don't understand what point you're trying to make when you ask if people know what municipal employees make and what their increases are. Again, apples and oranges, they're not crying foul. And voting...I vote every election I can vote on. I also voted the school budget down two years ago...and hmmm, the Town Council overturned it.
I agree that both sides should sit at a table and stay there until they come to an agreement. But, honestly, you shouldn't draw conclusions and assume that people are hiding behind anonymous posts, not voting and don't know where all of their tax dollars are going. And you really can't compare municipal employees to teachers either.

I agree, Toni. I don't understand why the public views teachers as the enemy.

BR residents should go to various township meetings. See how their taxes are really spent & then point fingers. If residents educate themselves, they will see that their money is being wasted in areas they never imagined. Tax money is spent on much more than teachers' salaries.

And have you heard? In February 2012, the BOE voted to adopt bill A4394 which allows school board elections to be moved to November. With the move, the budget will not be on the ballot as long as it stays under the 2% state-mandated cap. This means that taxes may increase every year without your consent. Just under 2% a year adds up pretty quickly!

Bwater Mom - While I agree that teachers should not be discussing these contract issues AT ALL with their students (if they are curious, they can read all about it here), I don't feel they are doing the kids harm (again, as long as they aren't using class time for it). After all, a majority of these students have seen violence and sex on television and in movies; I'd argue this is more alarming and harmful than seeing a few teachers stand outside of a building every Friday.

Bwater Mom, I find it curious that you assumed my post was directed at you.

Bwater Mom,

When the budget is defeated by public vote, the town council has the obligation to set the budget dollar amount. And they didn't overturn the vote, they cut the budget by an additional couple of million... sorry I don't recall the exact number.

Currently, the BOE could take a guaranteed 2% property tax increase annually without vote. If they ask for more than 2% it goes to a vote. If that is voted down, the BOE would have to settle for only the 2%. This Board is only asking for a 1% increase. Therefore, they are not maximizing the budget.

Granted, the property tax complaint will come up again... but this is the policy put in place by the Governor.

Thank you for posting this, Metoo!

Well stated David Weth, I commend you. You earned your right to fight!