Brick Board Pushes Back On Teacher Contract Negotiation Claims

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Board of Education is pushing back against a report that claims the board has been unwilling to meet with union representatives to discuss a new contract for the district's teachers.

In a public statement, Board President Stephanie Wohlrab said comments made by Tim Puglisi, president of the Brick Township Education Association, to Brick Shorebeat in a Feb. 19 article saying the board was refusing to meet ahead of mediation were not accurate, and said the two sides met as recently as Jan. 28.

"The Brick Board of Education, its negotiation committee, Board President and District Administration have worked diligently towards an agreement," Wohlrab said in a written statement in response to a request for comment. She said the board's negotiating committee met with the union leadership 10 times between Feb. 5, 2018 and Oct. 15, 2018 for formal negotiations on a new contract. The teachers' previous contract expired June 30, 2018.

"In addition, there have been multiple informal emails, texts and telephone calls between the Negotiations Committee and the Union leadership," Wohlrab said in the statement, which she said was reviewed with the district's labor attorney to make sure it was not breaching the confidentiality of the negotiations.

"Furthermore, Mr. Puglisi recently requested a meeting on January 23rd between himself, Superintendent Dalton and Board President Wohlrab. When Mr. Dalton informed Mr. Puglisi the other members of the committee should be included, Mr. Puglisi responded, 'never mind...' and cancelled the meeting request because he did not want to meet with the committee," she said.

"Consequently, on January 24th, Mr. Dalton requested and confirmed a meeting date of January 28th, in his office with himself, Board President Wohlrab and Mr. Puglisi. The meeting was pleasant and productive with a strong focus on a positive outcome for the upcoming mediation session. All parties left the meeting feeling heard," Wohlrab said.

A request for comment from Puglisi was not immediately answered.

The meeting with the state mediator is set for 7 p.m. next Thursday, Feb. 28.

The district's last contract with the teachers union included a 3.19 percent increase for 2017-18, the final year of that three-year contract, along with a change in health coverage. The school board moved to seek a state mediator in November, and the notice of impasse was filed with the Public Employment Relations Commission.

The impasse filing is "a service and procedural mechanism prescribed by the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) for situations such as this, i.e. when the parties are unable to reach an amicable agreement and may benefit from the services and input of an impartial and neutral party," Wohlrab said.

"Notwithstanding the Board’s good faith and intention to settle upon a fair and financially feasible agreement, the parties still have some distance between them," she said. "The Board continues to recognize and respect all our employees and values their contribution towards providing a high-quality, free public education to the students in our school district. Additionally, the Board of Education has the fiduciary responsibility to manage our budget including your scarce tax dollars responsibly and with all stakeholders’ best interest."

She called the comments by Puglisi to Brick Shorebeat "disheartening and possibly taken out of context."

"Clearly the Board has not refused nor otherwise failed to meet and has been willing to consider any other options offered by BTEA Leadership before or since the Impasse Filing," Wohlrab said. "Unfortunately, while the Board of Education would like to share the detailed nuance of the negotiations process with the public, our lawyers have advised against such action as it may violate confidentiality requirements under the law concerning negotiations. However, we will say the Board has offered competitive and fair salary and other proposals which are not only comparative of other districts, but also consider historical settlements in Brick as well as our current ability to pay salaries and fund educational, co-curricular, extracurricular, and other activities in our district."

The contract negotiations come at a difficult time for the district, which is faced with the loss of what school officials say is cumulatively $42 million over the next six years. The cuts that have occurred so far have resulted in a reduction in staff positions.

The removal of the so-called adjustment aid comes as a result of S2, the law pushed by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney. Sweeney contends Brick and other districts are not raising their fair share of revenue through local property taxes and have declining enrollment, and therefore no longer need the adjustment aid.

Brick is scheduled for a $2.7 million cut in state aid for the 2019-2020 school year. The district is among nine suing the state Department of Education over the allocation of state aid under S2. Read more: Brick Schools File Suit Against NJDOE Over Aid Distribution

Brick also is part of a statewide coalition of schools named Support Our Students that is working for a legislative solution to stop the funding cuts.

That group is planning a march on Trenton on March 5 to draw attention to the issue. Read more: Brick Schools To March On Trenton Over State Aid Cuts

Wohlrab's statement in its entirety is below:

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