Dolan Faces Parent Questions on Teachers' Contract at Morning Budget Presentation

Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan faced questions - and a parent debate - over the new teachers' contract during a Wednesday morning presentation on the proposed school budget.

Parents raised questions over the impact of the contract, which includes a 3.9-percent average raise and increased employee health care contributions, on the budget during the presentation. The presentation, sponsored by the Parent Teacher Council, is the first of two Dolan is conducting on Wednesday. She is scheduled to host a second one tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Westfield High School cafeteria.

During the presentation, several parents ended up in a debate over the merits of the teacher pay raise. Several parents questioned whether the raise was warranted in the current economy and after Gov. Chris Christie has slashed Westfield's state education aid by $4.22 million.

"These people are entrusted with our children for a large part of the day," one parent said. "A 3.9-percent raise is not horrible."

This comment received a response from another parent, who had signaled opposition to the raise option of the contract.

"I also think this is not the best year to have a raise," the second parent said. "A lot of people don't have jobs."

The original parent responded that the raise will have a benefit to education. She also addressed the four percent property tax hike that is contained in the budget proposal.

"I am not happy to pay additional property taxes, but I don't want my children's education to suffer," she said.

Parents asked direct questions over the impact of the raise and the health care changes on the overall budget. Dolan said the figures calculated by the Board of Education's business office show an impact of .8-percent on the overall budget. She said this figure was arrived at based on the amount of the health care contributions from the new contract and a new state law, along with the proposed raise.

Dolan, who was joined by BOE Business Administrator Bob Berman, said the overall $89.3 million budget cost is approximately $67,000 less than the current state budget. She said this was based on cuts following Christie's cut and the changes to the health insurance.

Several asked if the raise could be delayed and the reason behind the raise.

The Board of Education ratified the new contract with the Westfield Education Association on March 9, a week before Christie announced the state aid cut. While the new contract contains the 3.9-percent raise figure, BOE and WEA officials have cautioned that the figure will not be applied to every teacher for each year of the three year contract. The individual raises are calculated on a sliding scale in the pay guide and the more senior teachers will receive the smaller raises each year. The more junior teachers will receive raises closer to the 3.9-percent. The raises are scheduled to be offered annually for the life of the contract. The health care give backs include increased co-pays for medical visits and prescription drugs and employee contributions to health care costs, which Dolan has said is the biggest cost driver in the school budget.

Dolan told the parents that the contract also holds the district's starting salary of $57,000 flat. Westfield offers the highest starting salary of any district in the state. She also noted that the average district teacher - who is described as a woman with 10 years experience and a master's degree - makes a salary of $63,000.

The WEA and the BOE have been meeting regularly since Christie's March 16 cut in state aid to discuss potential changes in the contract. There has been no announcement of any changes to the teachers' contract. WEA President Kim Schumacher has announced that the association will not be accepting the salary freeze that Christie is urging. Parents questioned Dolan if any changes to the contract are forthcoming.

"We continue to talk to all of the unions," she said. "We met as recently as yesterday."

Dolan did use the forum to announce that district administrator have agreed to $55,000 in give backs during conversations following the Christie cuts.

One of the parents in attendance said she believes the WEA has been doing a good job in working with the BOE. She based her comments on the increased health care pay backs along with the parents background in corporate budgeting.

"It is hard to compare education to corporate America but it sounds like the teachers are doing their jobs," she said.

Dolan faced questions over the exact drivers behind the decision to ratify the contract in March. The contract ratification date, coming a week before the governor's scheduled budget address, has raised eyebrows in certain quarters and has been questioned by parents and Board of Education candidate Mitch Slater.

Dolan explained the contract has a benefit to the system that would not be allowed under the current state laws regarding union negotiation. She said a delay in negotiation could have forced the district into binding arbitration, which would have allowed for only two decisions to be made, based on labor and management proposals.

She cited one district she knows of which ended up in arbirtration after 18 months of negotiations and ended up with a five year contract with a annual four percent raise. She noted this would not be where she and the board would want a contract like that. Dolan said she and the board have been lobbying Christie and the legislature for changes to the arbitration rules, which the governor said is forthcoming as part of his much touted "tool kit" for school districts and local governments regarding public employee reform.

"We need those tools," Dolan said. "We work under existing laws. We are working hard and are aware and are trying."