After a two-month delay because of minor language problems, the Secaucus Board of Education approved a three-year contract for Secaucus teachers, clerks and custodians.
“This contract is good for both sides,” said Board President Bill Millevoi, “and is fair to both the teachers and the taxpayers.” The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2000, the date the previous contract expired. The new contact runs from July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2003.
Doug MacCormack, a member of the board’s negotiating committee, said the committee wanted to have the contract approved in June, but minor language problems could not be resolved in time for the end of school. So they decided to approve the contract at the first meeting in September.
“This is one of the more laborious things any board member has to do,” he said. “Some of the negotiating sessions went on until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning.”
The teachers will received a 4.4 percent increase the first year and 4.3 percent more for each of the next two years, although MacCormack said the rise is actually much less. Those teachers already at the top of the salary scale will receive no additional increase.
The contract covers teachers, clerks and custodians; 160 employees overall.
Because the teachers’ guide calls for a 1.2- percent increase anyway, the raise amounts to about 3.2 percent – with some teachers making less. While custodians will see a slightly higher increase – an estimated 4.7 percent – fewer employees are affected.
According to the New Jersey Department of Education, salary ranges for Secaucus teachers run from $35,803 for a new teacher to $76,381 for teachers on the top of the salary guide – before the new contract increases.
Various other aspects were settled
Other provisions of the contract include:
•Head custodians will see an increase in stipends by $300.
•Teachers will see an increase for extracurricular work and coaching of $20,000 for the first year of the contract, $10,000 for the second, and $10,000 for the third. The union itself will determine which teachers get how much. Many of the teachers were receiving under $1,000 a year. Increases range from $50 to $1,500 per employee. In most cases a teacher taking on extra duty before or after school will see an increase of $50 for the first two years and $25 for the third.
•Teachers on all levels will attend two evening parent conferences – and could attend as many as three. MacCormack said some months such as September need more teacher-parent contact, while other months such as December may need no meetings at all. The Secaucus Education Association, the union for the teachers, had proposed 12 meetings a year. The school district asked for and received 15.
•Teachers will be required to provide a 30-minute block of tutorial time per week in order to give extra help to students.
•Custodians will receive a $175-per-year allowance for uniforms, boots, coats, and rain gear in one year. In subsequent years, they will receive $100 per year. The board will approve the vendor to be used.
•The clerical staff – who work 12 months per year – were given New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve off in exchange for one sick day. Previously, the staff had to work a half day on both holiday eves. The clerks gave up one sick day in exchange.
•The school district also increased the cap for total accumulated sick days. Secaucus, like most school districts, allows union employees to accumulate unused sick days over the course of their employment and pays them later when they retire – with these days becoming more valuable as the employee’s salary rises. So a sick day obtained in 1997, for example, would be paid off at the salary level the teacher makes when retiring in 2003. Negotiations increased the total amount from $12,000 to $13,750.
The school district is still in negotiation with the supervisors’ union and the administrators, but MacCormack believes both will be concluded by November.
In another report, Buildings and Grounds Committee Chairman Anthony Rinaldi said the roof at Clarendon School has been redone with only minor capping work left to do. A tight time frame had left some board members fearful that the roof would not be ready in time for the start of school.