Board Bites Bullet: No Salary Increase in Budget

At a Tuesday evening meeting in the Wade Building in Martinsville, the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education rolled out a proposed general fund operating school budget of $127.9 million for the next school year, 2011-2012.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Schilder, who walked the public through a 19-page PowerPoint presentation, underscored the fact that for the first time that I can remember, the school budget contains no provision whatsoever for salary increases for any of the three major associations whose wage contracts all expire on June 30^th, 2011 – zero.  The proposed budget does, however, contain an increase for benefits.

The bargaining units in question are the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association (BREA), the Bridgewater-Raritan Principals Association (BRPA), and the Bridgewater Raritan Supervisors Association (BRSA). 

Later in the meeting, Board President Jeffrey Brookner read a prepared statement in which he explained that Board representatives already “. . . have met separately in negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.”  Mr. Brookner went on to say that “The Board representatives met three times with the Principals and twice with the Supervisors, but were unsuccessful in reaching a successor agreement.”

“As a result,” Brookner continued, “the parties will defer further discussions until after formulation of the 2011-2012 budget.”

It appears that the principals and supervisors have walked away from the table.

Formal negotiations have not yet begun with the BREA, although an association representative was present at Tuesday evening’s meeting.

Bridgewater and Raritan’s Board of Education just fired shots across the bows of the ships of its labor unions. Message:   The purse strings are tightening up and there is no more cash in the till.

 If this Board is serious about defending the position that it has taken Tuesday evening, it will need all of the public support that it can get.

The opposition could be fierce.