Teachers' Contract Debate Dominates Evening Budget Presentation

Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan faced more questions and debate about the recently ratified teachers' contract and teacher salaries during Wednesday evening's town hall meeting on the proposed Board of Education budget.

More crowded than the morning session, the evening session focused on many of the same issues from the public as the morning. Most in attendance focused their questions and comments to Dolan on the contract, which includes an average 3.9-percent raise for district teachers, along with increased health care give backs for teachers and co-pays.

A group of residents took to the floor to note that they believe the salary increase is too high and is causing local taxes for school to rise too much. The budget proposal contains a tax hike for the school tax bill by four percent or an average increase of $306 per household in Westfield. School taxes represent roughly 60-percent of the local property tax bill.

"The citizens of our town should not be frightened if the budget is not passed," Steven Schuman said. "Raises should not have been given to the teachers before the governor gave his speech. That is fiscal irresponsibility. The teachers make more than the average citizen in Westfield."

Schuman's comments are similar to ones that came up in the morning session and during the evening session and in prior public forums, regarding the timing of the contract ratification vote, which was a week before Gov. Chris Christie's budget address to the legislature. In the speech Christie announced plans to make deep cuts to local education aid, including a 90.4-percent cut for Westfield. Following the speech, the Board of Education announced layoffs and other cuts in the budget proposal to close the $4.22 million budget hole from the state cuts.

Dolan reiterated comments made in the morning session and previous public forums that the teachers' contract will have a positive benefit to the district, with the changes to the health insurance costs, which she said will have a benefit to the district. Dolan noted the decision to sign the contract was based on a desire to have set numbers for the budget discussions. In addition she said she and board members were working under March 2 comments from state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler to expect a no more than a 15-percent cut in state aid. Schundler made the comments at a meeting of suburban education leaders in Summit that was attended by Dolan and seven out of nine BOE members.

The teachers' contract was ratified by the board on March 9 and the governor's announcement was made in March 16. A final budget was passed on March 30. Since March 16 Dolan and Westfield Education Association officials have been meeting to discuss the budget, along with meetings between the administration and other unions representing BOE employees. During the morning session, Dolan announced that district administrators to the district from their tuition and conference expenses and their contracts. It is the only announcement of give backs by an employee association in the school district since Christie made the aid cut.

Jim Baker, a local community advocate who regularly questions the Town Council, spoke about his belief that cuts should not be made to teaching staff but instead to other portions of the budget. The budget proposal cuts 12 teaching positions, along with other slots in the school system to total 31 layoffs. It has been said that many of the cuts will be aborbed through attrition. While suggesting a change to the layoffs, Baker questioned the raise and suggested the teachers receive no raise.

One of the empty nesters in the audience, who led the opposition to the budget, responded to Baker's suggestion that less teachers should be laid off that it should not occur.

"I've never heard something so ridiculous as we can't lose the teachers, of course you can adjust," he said.

During the town hall, debate continued with one mother engaging the attendee who had characterized Baker's remark as ridiculous, along with Schuman and others in their group.

"If you don't have kids in the school system, think back to when you did," she said. "You should not be angry or vengeful. Try to put yourself in everyone else's shoes."

One opponent of the budget responded to this comment.

"I did have kids in the school system," he said. "When you are looking at a vote like this, if the budget is voted down, (the Town Council) will marginally reduce it. They will take into account the concerns of others. Everything is not going to hell if the budget is voted down."

Dolan stepped into the fray noting that each resident was bringing a different perspective to the budget debate and budget vote and she understands the various perspectives under discussion.

The early debate spurred the back and forth between meeting attendees regarding the details of the contract and the proper compensation for teachers in the district. Several parents questioned about how large class sizes would be accepted in Westfield. At one point Schuman noted that his mother had been a teacher in the New York City public schools and taught a class of 40, which he said turned out successful.

Dolan explained that she and BOE staffers are working to maintain the education quality in the schools in light of the cuts.

"These kids don't get another chance because they are in sixth grade when the state decides to change the rules," she said.

Most of the attendees who were proponents of the budget proposal centered their arguements around the historic quality of the Westfield schools and the impact the schools have had on students. Eric Deutchman talked about how his son heard many positive comments about the quality of Westfield High School when he was applying to college earlier this year and Cindy Gallagher mentioned how her daughter was helped by teachers in the school system and was well prepared for college after graduation.

During her presentation, Dolan discussed the high graduation and college acceptance rate of the public schools along with higher than average test scores. She also touched on several recent recognitions for the school system including the state championship for the girl's swim team and an award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for The Hi's Eye, the weekly student newspaper at Westfield High School.

During her presentation, Dolan trumpeted facts she brought up in the morning session, including the decision to hold the starting salary of $57,000 flat this year, the lower than state average per pupil spending in Westfield and what she said is a lower tax increase than comparable school districts in Union, Essex and Morris Counties.

Debate centered on the impact of a Town Council review of a defeated budget would have in Westfield. In 2005, when the Council reviewed the defeated budget, the Council decided to cut the budget by $725,000. Under state law, the Council is required to make cuts to a defeated school budget but there is no guide on how much those cuts could be. The Council has not indicated how it would approach the current budget if it is defeated. Board of Education President Ginny Leiz and BOE Vice President Julia Walker met with Mayor Andy Skibitsky and Councilman Mark Ciarrocca last week to brief them on the budget.

One resident said he trusts the Council as a democraticly elected body to make changes to the budget and provide guidance to the school system. He noted the Council will be able to change the tax rate in the event that the public votes the budget down. This concept angered at least one resident in the audience.

"If the budget does not pass we will let a body of elected officials decide what will be cut instead of the professionals," she said. "I would not let my mechanic tell my hairdresser tell me what to do with my hair."

Schuman said he disagreed with the comparison and said he believes the Town Council will be able to handle the education budget.

"I believe in democracy and representative government," he said. "To imply or infer that (the Town Council) cannot do their job is not right."