Tentative Settlement Reached On New Brick Teachers' Contract

BRICK, NJ — A tentative settlement on a new contract has been reached between the Brick Township Board of Education and the Brick Township Education Association, Board President Stephanie Wohlrab announced.

The terms of the tentative contract were not announced.

Negotiations between the two had been going on since last February on a new deal for the districts teachers and paraprofessionals to replace the contract that ended June 30, 2018. In November, the school board voted to seek the services of a state mediator to reach a settlement.

The two sides met with the mediator Thursday, Feb. 28, and teachers turned out at the board offices urging the board to come to an agreement.

"On behalf of the Board of Education, I would like to thank the BTEA negotiations team, the administration, teachers and community members for your cooperation, consideration and concern for all impacted by this year’s negotiation process," Wohlrab said in a statement released by the district. "We are pleased to have reached this tentative agreement and look forward to completing the process."

"Per the directive of the mediator, the specific terms and conditions of the successor contract cannot be shared by the parties with the public until the parties finalize and agree upon the salary guide and hold a ratification vote on the agreement," she said

"We look forward to continuing our work with BTEA leadership to finalize the salary guide and implement this agreement for our hard-working staff. As always, we are One Brick."

The negotiations have been tense for months. The December board meeting was attended by dozens of teachers and staff, all wearing black shirts. After a performance by the Brick Memorial Marching Band, the teachers left the meeting en masse to protest the lack of a settlement.

In mid-February, less than 10 days before the two sides were to meet with the state mediator, BTEA president Tim Puglisi accused the board of being unwilling to negotiate, and Wohlrab pushed back with a statement saying the two sides had met in late January and had been in communication informally for weeks.

The contract negotiations have come as the district is faced with the loss of what school officials say is cumulatively $44 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

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