Millburn Teachers Will Start School Year With New Contract: BOE

MILLBURN, NJ — Teachers, secretaries and paraprofessionals in the Millburn Public School District will start the new school year with a much-desired item on their wish list: a new contract.

During Monday’s Board of Education meeting, President Berylin Bosselman announced that a memorandum of agreement has been reached with the Millburn Education Association (MEA) on a new work agreement. Salary guides are still being worked out, but members of the union – which includes teachers, secretaries and paraprofessionals - will begin the school year with a contract agreement, Bosselman said.

Bosselman added that the board also expects to finalize negotiations with the district’s supervisor and custodial bargaining units “in the near future.”

MEA members have been pushing for a new contract since their old agreement expired in June 2017. According to the NJEA, the union sought to “maintain the language within their expired contract” as well as gain “fair increases in salary and relief and containment of their contributions to health benefits mandated under Chapter 78, a law enacted in 2011.”

In November, the MEA filed a notice of impasse with the state, requesting a mediator.

• See related article: Millburn Teachers, BOE Continue Contract Talks
• See related article: Millburn Teachers, Staff Want New Work Contract

During the June 19 Millburn BOE meeting at the Education Center on Millburn Avenue, dozens of Millburn Education Association (MEA) members packed the building, quickly making the event a standing-room-only affair and prompting a visit from the municipal fire marshal.

The educators – dressed in blue t-shirts reading "The Future Is In Our Classrooms" – had been protesting outside the building prior to the meeting, frustrated with the lack of a work contract despite prolonged negotiations with the district.

• See related article: Millburn Teachers Pack BOE Meeting, Fire Marshal Called (VIDEO)
• See related article: Verizon, Workers Ink New Deal, Move Forward From Massive Strike
• See related article: SCOTUS Ruling Is 'Sad Day' For New Jersey Families, Unions Say

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Millburn-Short Hills Facebook page here. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: Millburn Public School District