B-R BOE/Teacher Negotiations Continue; Board to Present Budget.

B-R BOE meets at John F. Kennedy school, Raritan, March 8, 2011

The negotiations team for the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education last met with representatives of the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association (the teachers union) on March 8. No specific results from that meeting were announced.

Representing the School District on its negotiations team are Board President Jeffrey Brookner, Vice-President Evan Lerner, and Board Member Arvind Mathur. Board member Al Smith of Raritan consults with the team.

Mr. Brookner confirmed today that a professional negotiator, Anthony P. Sciarrillo, has been hired to advise the Board in its deliberations, as well as to participate in them. Mr. Sciarrillo is with the firm of Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

Representing the Teachers Union is BREA President Steve Beatty and his negotiations team, which reaches up to the state offices of the New Jersey Education Association. A call to Mr. Beatty this morning, seeking information on the status of negotiations had not been returned at the time of this post.

According to Mr. Brookner, both groups are scheduled to meet again today, March 21st, to continue wage and benefit discussions which will impact the Bridgewater-Raritan School Budget.

That budget now stands at $129.5 million and will be presented to the public once more on Tuesday evening, March 22nd, at the Wade Administration Building in Martinsville. At prior Board meetings, School Superintendent Dr. Michael Schilder has consistently reminded the audience that the 2011-2012 school budget contains no provision for any wage increases for the BREA.

Pertinent to the process of negotiations is to what extent, if any, are there any legal prohibitions against disclosing to the voting public the status of specifics such as, for example, the offers and counter-offers being made by the parties representing the B-R BOE and the BREA.

When I asked about this at the Board’s work session on March 8th, at the JFK School in Raritan, Mr. Brookner replied that there are no legal restrictions to such disclosure.

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