Teacher Givebacks Include Tuition Reimbursement and Morning Duties

Changes to reimbursement accounts and to the definition of the teacher workday highlight the from the Westfield Education Association to the .

BOE President Julia Walker announced the specifics of the givebacks, which were originally announced last week, include reallocating part of the line item for tuition and conference reimbursement and cutting stipends for duties performed by teachers before school. The BOE had of the plan for a week, citing the scheduled presentation on Tuesday evening.

The givebacks were negotiated as part of the BOE’s plan to find additional funds for the proposed school budget. The money is being earmarked for three additional faculty positions.

Walker said the giveback negotiations started in November when a group from the BOE approached WEA officials to start discussions about potential changes to portions of the contract. Walker said the school district approached the union due to the uncertainty of how much state aid would be provided this year.

“We did not know what would happen from the state of New Jersey,” Walker said. “Speculation was we’d be at zero, speculation was we’d owe the state of New Jersey money.”

Walker said as the six meetings between the BOE and WEA unfolded, it became clearer the state aid numbers would not be as dire as first thought. The district received following a February announcement, an $800,000 increase of last year’s all time low of $400,000. Last year’s amount was by $4.22 million, or 90.4-percent from the previous year.

In an answer to BOE member Mitch Slater, Walker said the talks did not involve the largest portion of the teacher contract.

“There was no discussion of salary givebacks,” she said.

Walker explained the BOE looked at the district’s enrollment projections and the potential hotspots for growth when determining an amount to seek. She said the district and the WEA both viewed class size as important for student achievement and teacher performance.

“We started months ago and got to where our need was,” Walker said of the district’s negotiating strategy. “We had classes that were hotspots. That’s what we asked for.”

The between the BOE and the WEA includes a 3.9-percent annual raise for three years, a portion that touched off in the community last year. WEA President Kim Schumacher said multiple times last year that she would to a reduction in the raise or a pay freeze. Slater proposed a salary freeze within hours of his election, a suggestion that Schumacher .

Schumacher has remained quiet on this year’s givebacks, a change from her public comments during last year’s board meetings.

Slater also questioned Walker over the amount of the reimbursement lines. Walker explained to Slater this portion would account for $130,000 in savings. She said the entire line items were not spent annually but had to be funded to the level specified in the contract.

“If they are not planning to use it all, is it really a giveback?” Slater said.

Walker reiterated that it was a giveback.

Slater said that he would like Walker to continue discussions with the WEA to look at potential salary givebacks. Walker said it was unlikely given new enrollment projections showing a decrease in the number of slots to be filled.  

The types of positions being funded by agreement changed from the original announcement last week. During the original announcement, Dolan and Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan said the amount would fund two elementary school faculty positions and a guidance counselor at Edison Intermediate School. This week, Walker said the agreement would allow Dolan to use the money to hire three elementary teachers if she determined a need in that area. Dolan said it was still likely to use part of the money to create the new guidance post at Edison, which is seeing an enrollment spike.

BOE candidate Keith Hertell expressed several of the same concerns as Slater.

“Some of us could argue that it is not givebacks,” Hertell said. “It is unspent money.”

Hertell, a former BOE member and board finance committee chairman, also expressed concern with the funds from the givebacks being used to finance three recurring expenses in new positions. He questioned the BOE that the givebacks would last for a year and money would need to be found next year. Walker, who serves as the finance committee chairwoman, said the budget is crafted annually with funds being found to cover necessary expenses and positions.