State To Step In As Hillsborough Contract Remains Unsettled

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — It was a disappointing end on Thursday night as the Hillsborough Education Association (HEA) and the Board of Education (HBOE) could not settle their differences and come to an agreement on the teacher's contract.

Both sides met with a state-appointed mediator for the third and final time to try and come to a resolution before the fact-finding phase would begin. With no agreement made, the fact finding phase will begin.

This means that the state will have to appoint a fact-finder to come in and schedule a formal hearing for the BOE and HEA to submit their final proposals and evidence to support their last offers.

The fact-finder will then issue a report and make a recommendation for a settlement. This process will likely take several months and not finish until later in the school year.

The fact-finder's recommendation will not be binding upon either side and the costs for the services of the fact-finder are the responsibility of both the BOE and HEA.

"The Board remains willing to meet with the Association at any time in an effort to settle this contract dispute before the process moves on to fact-finding," the HBOE stated in a release.

"We eagerly await fact finding, where the truth will be revealed," the HEA stated in a release.

The HBOE and the HEA have been trying to reach an agreement over the past five months of direct negotiations. The HEA contract expired on June 30. Hillsborough teachers and staff are continuing to work under the expired agreement at their current salaries and benefits.

Negotiations continue to fall apart over critical issues including salary, the work day for part-time employees, tuition reimbursement criteria and the length and content of professional learning communities.

At the Sept. 12 meeting the BOE said they proposed a three-year agreement with cumulative salary increases of 8.4 percent. The BOE also said they agreed to the Association's request to reduce the time teachers are required to participate in professional learning communities, to provide child care leave for adoption, provide foul weather gear for custodians and to comprehensive procedures providing access to the district’s facilities and its employees to conduct meetings with its members.

The BOE claims the HEA did not present a counter-proposal at the Thursday night meeting.

The HEA has pointed out that the BOE has budgeted enough funds for the 2019-20 school year to achieve a settlement. They also pointed to surplus money gained through the board's recent decision to impose student fees, eliminate courtesy busing and layoff teachers.

"The fact that this board would willingly choose to build surplus while ignoring the
opportunity to maintain our community's great public schools is simply despicable," said HEA president, Henry Goodhue.

• See Related: Who's To Blame? Hillsborough Teacher Contract Remains Unsettled

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