FRANKLIN TWP. | Warren County Technical
School and its teachers are close to settling a contract that
has been outstanding for two-and-a-half-years.
The education association ratified
a tentative agreement in late April after a successful meeting
with a state appointed fact-finder.
The school board's hesitance to
vote on the tentative pact worries Warren Tech Education Association
President Ed Yarusinsky. The association wants the board to hold
a special meeting before its June 18 meeting so teachers can start
receiving their back pay, he said.
"We are just wondering what the
holdup is," he said. "It's nerve-racking."
The board presented the association
with contracts Thursday for it to review. School board President
Harold Warne wants the board to pass the agreement and the contract
at the same time. Because of the negotiation history, Warne said
there will be no special meeting.
The contract took so long to settle
because of disagreement over implementing the old tentative agreement,
he said, which the board rejected in September in a 4-2 vote.
To ensure this doesn't happen again, Warne wants them both voted
on at the same time.
New Jersey Education Association
representative John Ropars argues that's not common practice and
it takes a long time to go over a contract.
"They just said flat out they aren't
going to call a special meeting and there isn't a reason in the
world they can't call the meeting," Ropars said. "It's another
opportunity for them to show that they are in charge."
Warne acknowledges it is not common
practice but since both sides verbally agreed to the settlement
it shouldn't be a problem, Warne said.
"We want to give them their money,
hopefully by the end of June," Warne said. "If it comes back signed
we will ratify (at the board meeting) the day after graduation
on June 18. I am cautiously optimistic that we are done."
The fact-finding agreement would
cover four years. The law prohibits four-year contracts so it
is split into a one-year and a three-year contract. The first
year of the contract is a 4 percent raise, then 4.25 percent and
4.5 percent for the last two years. It also includes full medical
benefits.