BOE, Supervisors Agree on 3-Year Contract

The Board of Education said Monday it has reached an agreement with district’s 11 principals and supervisors on a new 3-year contract.

The agreement will be sent to the Hopatcong Association of Principals and Supervisors for ratification, and is expected to be voted on at the school board’s Aug. 27 public meeting.

Board president Clifford Lundin said the contract calls for 1.95 percent increases in each year. Those members in the lower end of the pay scale would received slightly higher annual raises, and those at the top of the pay scale would receive slightly smaller raises, Lundin said.

Monday’s work session allowed the board to set the agenda for the Aug. 27 meeting.

The union members will also be paying an average  20 percent of their health insurance premiums, he said. Under the agreements with employees, Lundin said, new employees will be paying 33 percent of their health insurance premium.

Board secretary Theresa Sierchio said the district has expanded its health insurance options beginning with the opening of the school year. The change gives employees three options for coverage and costs, she said.

One option is similar to the state health plan, a basic traditional plan, the second is the district’s current plan, and the third has a higher deductible. 

Sierchio said employees can pay up to 35 percent of their salary for health care, and these options are designed to introduce options that could reduced that cost. The district will explain the options to employees once school opens in September, and is planning an open-enrollment period in October.

The board also approved a one-year contract for Sierchio, which calls for a 1.95 percent annual increase, bringing her salary to $126,062.

Change Order for New Sidewalks 

The board endorsed a change order in a  contract to replace sidewalks and curbing at the school complex. The $4,800 change will pay the contract Cifelli and Son for work already completed, Lundin said. The change brought the contract total to $36,800.

The contractor extended the sidewalk project by 210 square feet of concrete sidewalk, rebuilt two drain inlets, and extended Belgian block curbing along the sidewalk Lundin said. The extension removed handicapped access ramps at the high school auditorium he said, because the new design reduced the grade of the sidewalks to make them flat.

Lundin said the drains will be marked with the blue paint environmental warning that indicate the drains release water into a public water source, he said.

“Our drains eventually run into Lake Musconetcong,” he said.