Board of Education Meeting Change to Accommodate Contract Negotiations

The chance for a meeting between the Board of Education and the Hillsborough Education Association (HEA)—and the chance of a new contract agreement—postponed the board’s Monday meeting to March 21, district officials said.

Normally scheduled for this Monday, both parties agreed to postpone the meeting in order to meat, Board President Steven Paget said.

“Part of that thought was things were going very positively, and both groups realized that we were free and they were free,” Paget said.  “We should all get together instead of having the board meeting and move this forward or even to a conclusion.”

“We are feeling optimistic that we are going to be settled before the next board meeting,” HEA President Barbara Parker said.  “It’s been heartening to see the community support for our support staff.”

The contract covers the district’s teaching, support, secretarial, janitorial and maintenance staff, including staff members who could face job privatization.

The district’s tentative budget suggested privatizing instructional and lunch aides, bus drivers and janitorial and maintenance staff as a method of saving money.  The proposal drew concerns from several teachers, community members, and bus drivers, who are not part of the HEA, after its presentation at the Feb. 28 Board of Education meeting.

The organization is also grappling with Gov. Chris Christie’s benefits and reform package, which would create an approximately 15 percent pay reduction on top of any concessions made to prevent privatization, Parker said.

“When we make concessions to same people from privatization, we have to realize that on top of the cuts we make there, we might see more from the governor’s reform package,” Parker said.  “We want to do everything we can to keep the school district intact, but it is having an impact.”

“It’s not everybody who is making $80,000 a year,” she added.  “We have a large amount of people who are making just enough to live in this economy.”

The groups have been negotiating a new contract for the past few months, with Negotiations Committee Chairman Neil Hudes reporting when the groups met during most meetings.  Since negotiations must remain private until a contract is reached, neither the board nor the HEA are able to reveal specific details about the discussions.

The HEA’s previous contract, which the board and organization approved in 2008, included annual salary increases that averaged 4.4 percent for HEA members.  The HEA members agreed to give back tuition reimbursements in exchange for a lower increase in health benefits costs during that bargaining session.

The agreement on health benefit costs came prior to a 2010 state law requiring public employees to pay 1.5 percent toward health benefit costs.  The law took effect in July 2010.

During last year’s budget season, the HEA also agreed to forgo tuition reimbursement and agreed to two furlough days during the 2010-2011 school year, in an effort to reduce budget costs.

The board and HEA expect to have additional meetings before the board’s March 21 meeting, according to Paget.

“In my experience, they are very professional and we are very professional,” Paget said.  “Things don’t always go smoothly but things are going positively.”