Crowd Expected At Central Regional School Board Meeting Tonight

It's going to be a hot time in the old town tonight.

Faculty members, parents and students are expected to converge on the Central Regional Middle School gymnasium at 7 p.m. tonight to sound off on the faculty contract impasse.

And many of them have differing opinions.

The Central Regional high school and middle school teachers have been working without a contract since last June 30. They began negotiations at the end of December 2014. Faculty members have stopped volunteering to chaperone traditonal events, like the annual art show and the dodgeball tournament.

That has angered some parents and students, who say the students are caught in the middle and should not lose traditional events.

Both Mannion and Central Regional Business Administrator Kevin O'Shea said they cannot go into detail about the impasse in the contract negotiations, since the matter has now gone to the state Public Employment Relations Commission's fact-finding process.

But Mannion did say the problems center around less take-home pay over the past few years and higher contributions to health care.

It's still possible the two sides could reach an agreement before the Thursday board meeting. But Mannion has his doubts.

"I do have some hope," Mannion said. "But I'm skeptical. It's very difficult at this point."

Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides held two "emergency" meetings last Thursday, one for the high school staff, one for student leaders, Mannion said.

"At each meeting, he pledged to stand by us if a settlement is not reached by Thursday," he said.

There is no set date for the fact-finding matter, but the CREA has received several suggested dates for some time in the spring, Mannion said.

Staff morale is low, he said.

"Nobody enjoys working under an expired contract," Mannion said. "Our students are intuitive. They know this behavior isn't characteristic of our staff. They want answers and we can't provide the answers."

Photo credit: NJEA Review