The Bayonne Board of Education trustees took two measures to allow talks about the teachers’ contract to continue, first invoking a doctrine of necessity at its Jan. 27 regular meeting, and then meeting with the union to allow new trustees to get up to speed on the negotiations.
The doctrine of necessity resolution prevents not slowing down the contract talks due to conflicts of interest and potential conflicts of several of the seven current board members, according to Board of Education attorney Anthony D’Elia. The board usually consists of nine members, but two trustee seats are currently unfilled because of resignations.
“The way the conflicts stand now, Mikel Lawandy would be the only one who could negotiate with the teachers’ union.” – Anthony D’Elia
____________
Six of the current board members were identified as having conflicts of interest and would not have been able to participate in the talks, because they have family members in the district who are teachers or other employees or because they were endorsed by the Bayonne Teachers Association (BTA) during last fall’s board of trustees’ election.
Those six trustees would have been prohibited from negotiating or acting on the teachers’ collective bargaining agreement. That would have resulted in a lack of quorum necessary to approve the contract, leaving only one trustee eligible to negotiate and vote on the pact.
“The way the conflicts stand now, Mikel Lawandy would be the only one who could negotiate with the teachers’ union,” D’Elia said. “We referred to an advisory opinion from the New Jersey School Ethics Commission that says this situation is not a good one, that we should invoke the doctrine.”
Having Lawandy as the sole trustee on the negotiating team would have had “ridiculous consequences,” according to D’Elia. “If they didn’t invoke the doctrine of necessity then Mr. Lawandy would be negotiating in the dark.”
All the other trustees would have had to not only step away from the negotiations, but also not get involved in any other way, including not publicly commenting about them. Those trustees would also not have been able to meet and talk about the negotiations “separately or clandestinely, at a diner, or at a Knicks’ game” or anywhere else, D’Elia said.
The board knew of some of the conflicts a year ago, when trustees had to vote on extending the contract of Schools Superintendent Patricia McGeehan. Following last fall’s election, Board Secretary Gary Maita circulated a request for disclosure of new trustees’ relatives employed with the Bayonne Board of Education.
There are still conflicts, D’Elia acknowledged. But the resolution allows the board to address the teachers’ contract.
The decision to introduce the resolution came at the board of trustees’ January workshop.
Sides meet again on contract
Representatives of the BTA, Board of Education administration, and the board of trustee’s new negotiating committee met during the first week of February to apprise the new trustees of the status of the contract talks.
Lawandy, Ava Finnerty, and Christopher Munoz are on the negotiating team for the board.
“It’s a new board, so a lot of it was reiterating our position,” BTA President Alan D’Angelo said.
“They also needed to get a feel about what this whole process is about.”
“We were brought up to date,” Finnerty said. The parties met at the Board of Education Central Office for about four hours. Board of Education attorney Robert Clarke briefed attendees about progress.
“The tenor was very professional, and it felt very comfortable with the union leadership,” Finnerty said. “They were extremely respectful and sensitive to the fact that we are new.”
D’Angelo said that medical benefits were still a negotiating point, but that there was nothing else he could discuss.
Both sides remain hopeful for a settlement.
“I always try to look on the positive side,” D’Angelo said.
“I’m optimistic that we can come to an agreement sometime soon,” Finnerty said.
Another negotiating session was scheduled for Feb. 10.
New board member selections
The board consists of only seven members because of the resignations of President Will Lawson and Vice President Ava Mitchell. Board Secretary Gary Maita advertised for new applicants to fill those seats and 13 people responded. Following interviews with them and presentations by them at the board’s Feb. 24 meeting, two applicants will be selected for the seats by the board’s current members in private session.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.