Lawrence BOE, Union Settle Contract

LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ — After multiple negotiation meetings, the Lawrence Board of Education (BOE) and the Lawrence Township Principals and Supervisors Association (LTPSA) have reached an agreement on a new contract.

All seven principals, five assistant principals, eight supervisors and the athletic director are in the LTPSA bargaining unit. Ten of the LTPSA administrators are 10-month employees, whereas the others are 12-month employees. Terms of the contract were outlined by the Board of Education in a press release Friday morning.

Highlights include:

Vacation:

• Existing members receive 23 vacation days annually
• Members hired new to the unit after July 1, 2018, will earn 17 vacation days in the first year of service and one additional vacation day in each subsequent year of service up to a maximum of 20 vacation days.

Salary: the unit’s salary base will increase 2.9% each year of the contract.

Retirement Benefits: effective July 1, 2020, the maximum payments for unused accumulated sick leave at retirement is $10,000 for 12-month employees and $8,000 for 10-month employees. The maximum retirement payout for most other district employees is $15,000.

Work Day/Year: over the course of the contract, four of the ten 10-month administrators will be made 12-month employees. Positions due to be increased to 12-months are the Supervisor of Guidance and other three administrators. The BOE and LTPSA mutually will agree upon which administrative positions will become 12-month during the contract.

The sides signed a Memorandum of Agreement on May 17, 2018, settling LTPSA’s contract. Subsequently, LTPSA ratified the negotiated settlement on June 6, 2018, and the BOE approved and adopted the agreement on June 13, 2018. The bargaining unit’s contract was due to expire June 30, 2018. The new contract’s terms are effective July 1, 2018, and extend until June 30, 2021.

“We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the BOE and to come to a fair settlement for our members,” LTPSA President David Adam said.

“The Board is pleased to have reached a settlement with LTPSA,” BOE President Kevin Van
Hise said. “The process was collaborative, professional, and fair, and we thank the LTPSA Negotiations Committee for their professionalism and dedication to our students and to our district.”

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