In a meeting which lasted three-and-a-half hours at the Bridgewater Municipal Complex, the Councils for Bridgewater Township and Raritan Borough met in open session with the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education to hear comments from the public and to discuss next steps.
Most of the meeting time consisted in hearing the views of the public which, in turn, consisted mainly of school personnel who were supported in their comments by parents. The preponderance of views expressed were clearly in favor of making little or no cuts to the budget. No teachers spoke in favor of a one-year wage freeze.
After all comments were in, several council members of both municipalities, including Bridgewater Council President, Matthew Moench, surprisingly still favored a voluntary $2.4 million wage freeze from all three school bargaining units. Since most of the Bridgewater-Raritan school budget is made up of wages and benefits, that's where the opportunity for cost reduction comes from.
At the very end of the meeting, Moench made a plea to BREA President Steve Beatty to reconsider taking the question of a wage freeze directly to the rank and file for an up or down vote. The same request applies to the bargaining units for the principals and supervisors.
A subcommittee of all three governing bodies will now consider specific proposals and report back. Mr. Moench indicated that another public meeting like that of tonight will be held in about two weeks. The final adjusted budget is due to the New Jersey Commissioner of Education by May 19th.
On the tripartite subcommittee are Matthew Moench and Christine Henderson Rose for Bridgewater Township; Denise Carra and John LaMaestra for Raritan Borough; and Jeffrey Brookner, Lynne Hurley and Michael Schilder for the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education.
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