North Caldwell Teacher Contract Talks Stall, Mediation Needed

NORTH CALDWELL, NJ — There’s a keyword that parents in the North Caldwell Public School District should keep in mind as they wait out the latest contract talks between the Board of Education and the North Caldwell Education Association: patience.

In response to a recent email from the board to parents about the ongoing contract talks – which are now headed to mediation – the North Caldwell Education Association released their own statement about the negotiations.

“You recently received an email from the board of education regarding contract negotiations between us and the board. It is true that the process is headed to mediation. At this point in time, we simply ask that you be patient and reserve making a judgment on the situation until more facts have been presented to the community… You have our assurance that regardless of the negotiation process, we will continue to educate your children in the professional, dedicated manner which our community takes pride in.”

• See related article: North Caldwell Teachers, District Continue Contract Talks

The North Caldwell Board of Education released the following statement about the talks in late April:

“As you may know, the North Caldwell School District's three-year contract with teachers expires on June 30, and we are currently in the process of negotiating a new agreement for 2018-2021. Because we have reached a significant shift in the process, we thought it important to communicate to the community the status of those negotiations so that you can hear it directly from the Board of Education.

"Whenever we negotiate, the Board has the difficult task of balancing competing factors. We are very grateful to our excellent teachers and staff for their hard work in making our schools top notch and wish for them to be compensated fairly for their hard work. At the same time, we are always conscious of the need for manageable property taxes, as well as the state's 2% cap on increases to our tax levy, which gives us extremely limited flexibility.

"We - both the Board and the community as a whole - face a difficult challenge in maintaining the sustainable financial health of our schools, particularly given the already planned significant land development in the Borough and the uncertainty surrounding the 100-acre Greenbrook Country Club. As you have read from our communications last year, we expect to ask the community to approve a significant school expansion (with necessary security upgrades) that will increase costs to homeowners.

"With all of this in mind, we have been working with our teachers' union's bargaining committee over the last several months, proposing various possible solutions. The teachers' union's committee recently decided not to provide counteroffers but instead to consider us at impasse, which triggers a mediation process.

"While the Board would have preferred to continue talking with the committee about its and our concerns and issues and to exchange proposals aimed at finding common ground, we unfortunately did not have that choice. Instead, the Board will actively engage in the mediation process and do our best to work collaboratively with the teachers' union's committee, with the goal of reaching a resolution that is both fair to our teachers and consistent with the needs of the community.

"This process is by no means over, and we appreciate the professionalism of our teachers as it has progressed, but we felt it important for the community to hear the status of this matter directly. As always, please join us at our regularly scheduled meetings to learn more. Our next meeting is Tuesday, May 29 at 7:30 pm in the Grandview cafeteria."

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