Teachers disrupt day at Warren Tech Working without a contract since June, a majority of teachers arrived 90 minutes late. Field day canceled. Saturday, May 26, 2007 • By ANDREA EILENBERGER • The Express-Times Frustrated over an unresolved contract, the majority of teachers and secretaries at Warren Tech arrived 90 minutes late Friday and forced the cancellation of a student field day. Warren Tech Education Association members believe the school board is delaying the contract by trying to alter terms of a tentative agreement reached in January, a spokeswoman of the New Jersey Education Association said. They have been working without a contract since June. "What happened (Friday) was an expression of that extreme frustration," spokeswoman Kathy Coulibaly said. "All the association wants is the district to respect the collective bargaining process." Coulibaly, who spoke on behalf of the Warren Tech Education Association, said about 40 employees are in the association, which includes teachers and secretaries. Warren Tech acting Superintendent and Principal Alan Naimoli said about 10 teachers arrived on time by 8 a.m. Students were placed in various locations in the school such as the cafeteria, gym and theater. The teachers and administrators present supervised the groups until the rest of the staff arrived. The school operated on a delayed-opening schedule by shortening regular class periods. Parents were notified of the situation by a phone message system about 8 a.m. While the students were cooperative, many were disappointed by the cancellation of a field day planned for the afternoon, Naimoli said. The event consists of different activities and is the culmination of a yearlong competition called the Warren Cup. Naimoli is working to reschedule the event. Coulibaly didn't know whether Warren Tech Education Association members planned to arrive late in the future. She said they want to resolve the issue before the end of the school year "so they can end on a positive note." Graduation is scheduled for June 15. The last day for teachers is June 18, Naimoli said. Warren Tech Education Association members on Thursday voted to ratify the tentative agreement, and they want the school board to stop delaying, Coulibaly said. The mutual agreement in January was reached pending completion of salary guides, she said. That signaled the end of negotiations under the collective bargaining process, she said. School board President Harold Warne said the board hasn't received an official, written objection to the contract language. "We need something formally from them as far as what the objections are" in order to resolve the dispute, Warne said. "It's totally in their hands," he said. Warne said the board would like to go back to the mediator if the Warren Tech Education Association is unsatisfied with the contract language. Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.