Amid public fighting, Neptune teachers' union contract talks stall again, enter new phase

NEPTUNE – Strained contract talks between the township school district and the teachers' union, already at impasse and stalled in mediation, have reached a new level of uncertainty.

Following a period of sustained public bickering, the school district and the Neptune Township Education Association, without a contract since June 30, have agreed to take their differences to fact-finding.

In this stage, a state-appointed “fact-finder” will review the district’s finances and make recommendations on pay and possible changes in benefits. The fact-finder's proposals are nonbinding.

“A fact-finder will tell us what is there and that our requests are not unreasonable, that is what we are going to find out,” said Lynn Parry, president of the NTEA, which represents 600 teachers and staff in the 4,000-student district. “I am hoping the political will is there to take care of the teachers and the staff.”

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In the meantime, the war of words that had made initial negotiations in the spring so contentious has continued with the NTEA and the Neptune Township Board of Education continuing to trade attacks — both online and at meetings.

At an Oct. 27 school board meeting, board President Chanta L.Jackson accused the teachers’ union of causing the stalemate.

“The NTEA has offered no proposal but instead has rejected all that were provided by the board,” she said. “Had the NTEA participated in meaningful dialogue with the board the current circumstances would have been totally avoidable.”

At the same meeting, the NTEA's Parry countered that the district is failing to provide a fair offer despite having what he claims is adequate funding.

“The board’s final and best offer was an ultimatum rather than an invitation to negotiation,” he said. “Every board proposal included a corresponding ‘give back’ ensuring a significant erosion of compensation and benefits for the front-line workers of this district. Your message that teachers and staff are not worth the money they are currently being paid has been received loudly and clearly.”

The most recent district offer is a 2.7% annual pay hike as part of a three-year agreement, while the teachers’ union is requesting 3.3% annual raises. The last NTEA contract was a three-year agreement that included a 3% annual increase, as well as a one-year extension signed in June 2020, officials said.

The move to fact-finding followed two sessions with a mediator, held Aug. 31 and Oct. 20, which both sides described as unproductive. They agreed to go to the fact-finder last month, and one was chosen during the past week, Parry said.

Along with comments on the contract talks during board meetings, district officials have also posted regular negotiation updates to the district website, an unusual move in such contract discussions.

“In the past, the negotiations were kept relatively private,” said Mike Highland, NTEA treasurer. “The fact that it is becoming public is not a fair negotiating tactic, but it is something the board has decided to do.”

Those district updates include a recent posting that laid out what district officials claim is proof that the school board does not have the funding to provide the raises the union is seeking.

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“Contract negotiations are never simple and are often compounded by situations beyond our control,” Superintendent Tami Crader said in an email statement Wednesday. “Over the last several years, we have lost millions of dollars in state aid and have had to rely on excess surplus when we have it, staffing cuts, and an anticipated closure of a school to offset these cuts.

“We anticipate additional cuts in the future. The challenge here is reaching a settlement that benefits staff but does not put the district in the position of unsustainability and does not place an unfair burden on tax payers … we are all hopeful that the fact finder can help to get the bargaining agreement across the finish line.”

But Highland said fact-finders are in high demand and in short supply, meaning a long delay is likely.

“The problem with fact-finding is once we agree to a fact finder than the fact finder schedule has to be agreed upon,” he said. “I think we are looking at months before we can meet with a fact-finder.”

Parry said having no contract also puts a strain on teachers and staff who remain in uncertainty: “Working without a contract makes people uneasy. When you get into extended time periods without a contract people are not advanced on the salary guide and you have an issue.”

The public disagreements date back to June when the school board made the first public statements about negotiations in an online notice that announced an impasse and claimed NTEA negotiators were stalling.

“The NTEA negotiations team requested additional time to survey their members before continuing discussions,” the notice said about the union. “NTEA did not return to the table until April 14, 2021.”

In a statement in June, Parry criticized the board for revealing negotiating positions and accusing the union of failing to bargain.

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“Ground rules for bargaining allow for both sides to share information with their respective members,” Parry wrote. “There are no allowances for sharing initial proposals or discussions with the public as the board did on its webpage.”

But the district has continued to air its critical views of the negotiations in public, posting an update after the Nov. 23 board meeting that claimed Parry’s argument that the district has funds for a higher raise offer “demonstrate a lack of understanding of school finance.”

At that same meeting, Parry appeared to compare the board’s actions to Ebenezer Scrooge.

“When someone cannot afford to care for himself and those around him, we call him poor,” Parry said. “When a man cannot bring himself to spend money he has, we call him a miser. Next month I will tell you the story of an old man who couldn’t bring himself to care for those around him, but rather sat alone and counted his gold. Spoiler alert... that old man learned something...Next month I hope to end my comments with a Tiny Tim quote...we will see.”

Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of three books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Neptune schools, teachers' union contract talks stall again