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| Administration Bldg. of the Bridgewater-Raritan, NJ Schools |
Negotiations take place behind closed doors, and the public gets virtually no input into the process. Moreover, you are not being kept sufficiently apprised of the particulars, such as the offers and counter-offers being placed on the table by both sides.
I cannot stress enough how important the outcome will be upon this community and upon the $129.5 million budget which will be placed before you, Bridgewater and Raritan voters, on April 27th.
Consequently, I hope that the negotiation teams representing both groups will decide to release to the public an ongoing, detailed status of their discussions.
I’ve asked about this matter at public meetings and have also inquired of the leaders from both teams about their views on this topic.
I’ve asked about this matter at public meetings and have also inquired of the leaders from both teams about their views on this topic.
There are at least two critical issues: The first is the question of complete public disclosure of the results from each negotiation session. The second relates to the timing of when an agreement might be reached.
Timing is critical, because it has a direct bearing on the accuracy of the $129.5 million School budget that you are expected to vote upon, come April 27. According the latest official School Board presentation, salaries and benefits account for 79% of budget expenditures.
Put another way, how can you be expected to make an intelligent decision on the School budget, if you haven’t been updated in sufficient detail on the current status of the what-if scenarios concerning labor negotiations before you go to the polls?
Businesses deal with uncertainty every day, yet plan for it. The Bridgewater-Raritan School budget is a business decision, even though it deals with the educational outcome of students.
NEXT: More about disclosure.
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