BOE: 3 Issues Stalling Contract Negotiations

Board of Education president Evan Lerner said the board of education is focusing on three major issues as it continues contract negotiations with the —raises, health care benefits and the length of the work day.

Read the B-REA's response to the board's statement.

Lerner made a statement Tuesday concerning the state of the negotiations following the first held between the two parties Dec. 8, after the B-REA in June.

Read Lerner's full statement to the board of education regarding negotiations below:

"It has been several months since my last update on the status of the board's negotiations with the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association. An update is in order.

"In my June 28th statement, I indicated that the B-REA had terminated the ongoing negotiations between it and the district, and instead has unilaterally declared that the sides are at impasse. As a result, no further formal negotiating sessions were scheduled and the informal discussions between the board and B-REA were likewise terminated.

"Up to that point, the board was trying to come to agreement on what we perceive as the three major issues in the negotiations: raises; health care benefits and contributions; and the length of the work day. It was and remains our belief that when these issues are resolved, we would focus on and presumably resolve other contract wording issues fairly quickly.

"As a result in changes in law effective July 1, the issue of staff contributions to its healthcare premiums has been determined by law rather than negotiations, effectively removing this item from the list of open issues.

"The next step in this process following the B-REA declaring the impasse is non-binding mediation. The first mediation was held on Dec. 8 here at the Wade building. The mediation session lasted about three hours. Although no agreements were reached, useful information was exchanged by the parties. It was also, in my view, good to again participate in the negotiation process. The only way to achieve resolution is to communicate. The next mediation session is scheduled for the first week in February.

"The principal issues remain unchanged other than the contribution requirement that resulted from changes in law. I think it helpful to briefly recap each of them.

Currently, the district's health insurance policies are written by private insurers. The policies are expensive and the year-to-year price increases have been substantial. This year alone, the increase in these premiums cost the district over $2 million.

"There are state-sponsored insurance plans available that would save the district about $80,000 per month. It has been communicated to us that teachers would like to switch to these products as well, as they provide many more options in terms of health coverage. I have recently reached out to the B-REA to see if it would be willing to make this change immediately to provide both savings to the district and preferred coverage for its members. I am waiting for a response.

"The 'workday' issues remains unresolved. This item relates to the number of minutes in each day teachers may be required to provide direct instruction to students.

"An overwhelming majority of teachers in grades six through 12 have 200 minutes of direct instructional time per day. This equates to five periods out of a nine-period day. If these teachers had six periods of direct instructional time, the district would be able to operate with fewer teachers and would achieve substantial savings.

"The B-REA has expressed concern that such a plan would lead to teacher layoffs. The district's proposal, however, provides that no teachers would lose their jobs as a result of this change and that instead savings would be achieved as and when teachers retire or otherwise leave the district as their responsiblities would be assumed by existing staff rather than new hires. It also provides for additional compensation to the teachers as they assume additional minutes.

"In seeking to change this provision in the agreement, the board is seeking to make the delivery of instruction in our district more efficient from a financial point of view while establishing requirements for all teachers that better reflect the local and similar-district norms.

"The last issue, raises, also remains open. There is no additional information to share on this subject at this time. It should be noted, however, that recent accounts of negotiations from last spring in the press provide incorrect figures and omit significant information. The B-REA has never proposed a 0 percent increase in year one followed by an aggregate increase of 3.4 percent to 3.6 percent spread out in years two and three, which would be the equivalent of 1.8 percent in each of those two years.

"The board remains ready and willing to move forward with the process. The commencement of mediation is indeed a step forward as the parties are once again communicating. The more opportunities we have to focus on issues, however, the more quickly we'll reach resolution. Reaching out to the B-REA now with a view toward changing health plans ASAP is an example of that."