BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
DEMAREST, N.J.—Northern Valley Education Association representatives and Northern Valley Regional High School District negotiators have reached an impasse in negotiations over a new three-year teachers’ contract—leading to teachers on picket lines at district high schools in Old Tappan and Demarest.
Lisa Veit, Northern Valley Education Association president, told Northern Valley Press Jan. 24 that the two top sticking points include increasing yearly teacher contributions to health insurance and pension costs—imposed by a state law signed in 2011 by former Gov. Chris Christie—and salary increases to compensate teachers for the mandated contributions. The previous three-year contract expired in July.
“We are trying not to be aggressive but to get the information out to parents and the community about the impasse,” said Veit, speaking to Northern Valley Press.
Teacher picket lines did not interfere with any school activities or teaching, said Veit, noting teachers marched before classes began.
Veit said teachers’ union and district negotiators have met at least eight times since July 2018—three times over the summer—and were scheduled to meet one more time before a late February mediation session. She said the union hopes to settle soon.
“As of now, the only thing we can tell you is that the negotiations team feels that we have not received a fair offer from [NVRHS District],” emailed Veit.
She said teacher pickets will continue to bring public awareness to the stalled negotiations.
In the 2018-2019 district budget, teacher salaries listed under various instructional accounts totaled about $26.7 million and benefits about $8.4 million out of a total of about $56.9 million of total district expenses.
In a letter to Northern Valley Press, Veit pointed to Public Law 2011, Chapter 78 which “implemented mandatory insurance deductions for school employees while also increasing our pension contributions,” she wrote.
“Despite receiving an increase in salary, under Chapter 78, we each saw significant reductions in our take-home pay. As you might imagine, this has created a host of problems for the staff, many of whom have had to take on a second job during the school year. Teaching in a high-performing school district is stressful in and of itself, and there is no pedagogical advantage to be gained from a teacher who has to work a second job while school is in session,” Veit wrote.
“Because of Chapter 78, we’re doing the same jobs at school but taking home less pay than we did four, five, or even six years ago. Our raise is only a raise on paper. This trend cannot continue,” she wrote, explaining the current impasse.
However, Northern Valley Regional District Board of Education President Joseph Argenziano replied in a letter to Northern Valley Press to Veit.
NVEA ‘highest paid’ in NJ
He said, “Veit appears to be tone deaf in commenting that the reductions in take home pay are so significant that they have had to take on second jobs to survive. As NVEA members are the highest paid teachers in the State of New Jersey, these statements do a disservice to her membership and are an insult to the teachers in the other 690 school districts in the state that earn a fraction of what the NVEA does,” he wrote.
Both letters by Veit and Argenziano to Northern Valley Press are included in full in this week’s newspaper.
“The Board would like to say that we consider the teachers and staff in this district extremely valuable assets and an integral component to the success of our students. As such, this board is comfortable with the fair offer it has made to the union, which will allow its members to remain as the highest paid teachers in the State for years to come, with no other district even remotely approaching our salary levels,” wrote Argenziano in response to Veit.
Reached Jan. 24, Veit noted that teachers in school districts statewide and nationwide are facing a similar dilemma: reduced salaries due to increasing costs for health and pension benefits.
She faulted former Gov. Christie for creating a negative public perception of teachers during his eight years in office, a perception she said teachers are still trying to overcome.
“We are tired of losing ground, paying more than we should and—most of all—we are tired of the Board’s attempt to balance its budget on the backs of its employees. It’s time to level the playing field, an in one unifying voice we are calling upon our Board of Education to do so,” Veit wrote.
Veit said the union hopes a contract settlement is reached soon. The teachers’ union comprises about 350 members at both regional high schools and the Region III Special Education District, including teachers, office professionals, custodians, media center specialists, counselors, nurses and tech support.
‘Reached out’ to NVEA
Argenziano said the teachers’ union “walked away” from negotiations declaring an impasse in October and despite several contract offers from the board since then, no progress has been made.
He said the board “has reached out several times” to restart negotiations and has been rebuffed by NVEA. Despite the impasse, he said he hoped that an upcoming negotiation meeting leads to a contract resolution without a need for mediation.
No ‘blank check’
“We’re trying to do our best to make this work,” Argenziano told Northern Valley Press, noting the board has responsibilities to taxpayers, parents, students and teachers during contract negotiations.
“If we expect to continue to raise the level of student achievement, while honoring our pledge to the taxpayers of our district, we all need to remain disciplined with our spending and understand that we have not been given a blank check with which to govern the district,” Argenziano concludes in his written response.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct an erroneous date included in an earlier version.