Fact-finder
next step in dispute
Great Meadows teacher talks.
Contract expired last June. Mediator's suggestions
considered.
Monday, February 27, 206 • By KAT MAIN •
The Express-Times
INDEPENDENCE TWP. | Teachers in the Great
Meadows Regional School District will chaperone
eighth-graders on their annual class trip to Washington,
D.C.
That's not the norm these days, since the
three-year contact expired in June for the district's 86
teachers.
Teachers have said they won't participate
in any after-school activities until the school board agrees
to a new deal.
"It seems like, from my perspective, that
the teachers are using the students as bargaining chips,"
said William Vonder Haar, a Liberty Township resident and
chairman of the Citizen Association for Responsible
Education -- a group that distributes newsletters on
district happenings. "If their position is strong, they
shouldn't have to use children as a lever."
The two sides met last week with a
state-appointed mediator. The mediator suggested the parties
involve a neutral fact-finder to analyze the teachers'
requests and compare them with current working conditions of
county, state and district workers.
Superintendent Jason Bing said the
fact-finder would be appointed within two to four weeks.
After the fact-finder gathers information, a meeting would
be set up within a week or two, Bing said.
"We're hoping this will be done in an
expeditious manner," Bing said.
Details haven't been disclosed, but Bing
said the main sticking points pertain to salaries and
benefits. The average teacher's salary for the 2004-05
school year was $53,346. The county average was
$53,693.
Bob Jones, the head negotiator for the
school board, said in a statement released Thursday that the
fact-finder would make a recommendation as to the next step
in negotiations.
Bing said the mediator's intervention is
indicative of the current climate in New Jersey
schools.
"It's just a sign of the times in the
state," he said. "Something needs to be done about the fact
that we rely on property taxes to fund education. That needs
to be addressed.
"If budget caps were higher it would be
easier for districts to handle negotiations if state aid was
stable, but there are decreases every year and you never
know what you're going to receive."
In addition to boycotting after-school
activities, district teachers have been picketing before and
after school as a show of solidarity. They boycotted an
in-service day planned for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
earlier in the month.
Great Meadows Regional School District is
comprised of Great Meadows Middle School, Independence
Central School and Liberty School.
Reporter Kat Main can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by
e-mail at kmain@express-times.com.
© 2006 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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