Jersey City teachers would like their contract ratified, but the local school board has hesitated to vote in favor of it, citing the poor financial climate and staff layoffs.
The Jersey City Board of Education, at a raucous and contentious meeting on March 18, voted not to approve the contract that would give teachers and other school employees in the school system raises each year from now until the 2012-2013 school year.
Days after the vote, Gov. Christopher Christie sent out a letter to school boards across New Jersey calling for a freeze in wages for all school employees in the 2010-2011 school year, saying this would save the state money.
Christie also called for school district employees to contribute 1.5 percent of their salary to pay for health benefits just as other public sector employees are doing under the state’s health benefits system.
Last week, Gov. Christie called for a wage freeze for school employees.
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Teachers fight for their rights
Bob Cecchini, the grievance chairman for the Jersey City Education Association, the teacher’s union, was unhappy at the last board meeting after the board’s vote.
He was just as unhappy during an interview last week about Christie’s call for “sacrifice” from educators.
“I don’t think much of what Christie said,” Cecchini said. “It’s sad that [regarding] the gains made over 40 years in teachers’ salaries, he is looking to overturn [them] in one fell swoop.”
The contract details
There are over 3,400 teachers in the school system and thousands more counselors, teacher assistants, and secretaries who are impacted by the pending contract.
Teachers and other school employees are paid according to a firm salary schedule that takes into consideration years of service and what type of education degree they have.
The proposed Jersey City teachers’ contract calls for increases in overall total of teachers’ salaries of 4.3 percent in the current 2009-2010 school year, followed by 4.4 percent increase in the 2010-2011 school year, a 4.7 percent increase in 2011-2012, and 4.3 per cent in 2012-2013.
A teacher with a bachelor’s degree under the new contract would earn $48,523 in the first year and by the fourth year would earn $51,078. The increases are for those teachers with up to 13 years of service. A teacher with that many years service and a bachelor’s degree could earn as much as $99,000 by 2012-2013.
After 16 years in the system, the contract would give school employees periodic raises of $900 to $1,300 in their maximum salary level, reached during the first 13 years of service. These increases would continue until an employee reached 45 years of service.
Status of the contract
At the present time, the contract is being studied by the board, said Board Vice-President Terry Dehere, also the chair of the Board’s Finance Committee, at the last board meeting. Dehere, who voted against ratifying the contract along with fellow board members Gerald McCann, Pat Sebron, and Frances Thompson, said at the meeting that he wants to figure out what changes can be made to the contract in order to save as many jobs as possible if the budget is cut. At the same time, he would like to help the taxpayers of Jersey City avoid a tax increase.
Voting in favor of the contract were board members Dr. Peter Donnelly, Sue Mack, Angel Valentin, and school board president Bill DeRosa. Abstaining on the vote was Sean Connors, who said he was advised by a state ethics commission not to vote on the contract since he was endorsed by the JCEA when he ran for office.
In an interview last week, Dehere admitted that so far, he does not see much in the contract that can be renegotiated, and doesn’t see changes being agreed upon by the JCEA. He did say he will push to cap on longevity salary increases after 35 years, which he believes will save the district money, but he couldn’t say how much.
One detail that Dehere doesn’t think will get much traction with the union is the wage freeze for the 2010-2011 school year, as called for by Christie.
Meanwhile, Jersey City residents will get to vote on three board members and the proposed school budget for next year on April 20.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.