School Officials and Union Continue to Negotiate

Tonight, at the Wade Administration Building, two negotiation teams, one for the Bridgewater-Raritan School District, and the other for the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association, will meet again.  They will continue to discuss their positions and offers at an official mediation session. 

Burning the midnight oil at the Wade Administration Building

Previously, according to Board President Evan Lerner, the teams had met on February 29, 2012 to swap views informally.

In a brief talk with me this afternoon Mr. Lerner acknowledged that the key topics center on the provider of the union’s health care plan; teacher work rules; and salary.

In a prior interview with Lerner on February 6th, he had been hopeful that a consensus might have been reached on a potential savings of $80,000 per month in health care premiums to the current 2011/2012 school budget ending June 30^th, but that did not happen.

Also on the negotiating table are the length of the teacher work day, and the salary issue.

The typical length of a school union contract is three years.  Significantly, the BREA is nearing the end of its first year with no contract, and there is a 0% pay increase built into the budget for the present 2011/2012 school year ending June 30^th. 

When questioned about the outer years of a potential contract, Mr. Lerner indicated that “it is unrealistic to say 0% again.”  

It should be understood that the BREA will in most likelihood be looking for another multi-year contract; most probably another three years, and that it may be seeking a percentage salary increase that will cover the entire period of that contract.

Earlier this year, when Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael Schilder introduced the budget for the 2012/2013 school year which begins next July 1^st, he stated that it contains a 2% increase for all three negotiation groups – the teachers, the supervisors, and the principals. 

Nonetheless, Dr. Schilder emphasized that “in no way” did he mean that percentage to be telegraphing a commitment to the bargaining units.

When asked about this today, Mr. Lerner indicated that the “2%” should be considered as “a place marker,”  explaining that labor contract agreements in other districts have been negotiated in a range from “1.6% to 2.3%.”   

On the team for the BR-BOE are Evan Lerner, Jeffrey Brookner, and the lawyer for the board.  Representing the BREA are Steve Beatty, Dave Doheny, Joe Krenetsky, and the union’s advisor.

Following my discussion with Mr. Lerner this afternoon, a call that I placed to Mr. Beatty was not returned in time for this post.