Newark Schools: New Contract With Middle Management Will Be ‘Performance-Based’

Newark, NJ – The Newark Public School District announced Tuesday that the district has reached a new labor agreement with the labor union representing its middle management positions.

According to a district news release, the agreement with Local 32 Union will cover employees including: principal fiscal analysts, principal auditors, supervising engineers, administrative secretaries, supervising clerks, heating system specialists, senior systems analysts, management information system specialists, network administrators and “other professional administrative positions.”

The new contract will create a new evaluation standard through which employees will receive annual salary increases, school administrators stated. In addition, the contract will eliminate the previous policy of using an “automatic step-up pay scale” in favor of a “performance-based” system.

Newark Public Schools first negotiated performance-based pay for teachers with the Newark Teachers Union in 2012 and classified support staff with the Local 617 Union in 2015, administrators stated.

According to school officials:

“Under the new contract, Local 32 members will receive one of the following annual evaluation ratings: highly effective, effective, partially effective and ineffective. Employees who receive a rating of highly effective, effective or partially effective will be eligible to move up one step on the salary scale and receive the corresponding salary increase. Employees who are rated as ineffective or receive two consecutive partially effective ratings will not move up a step on the salary guide or receive a salary increase. To assist employees in achieving a higher evaluation rating moving forward, low performers will receive the benefit of corrective support.”

School officials stated that the new contract will provide a one-time, flat, non-base payment of $3,000 to full-time employees in order to cover a four-year retroactive period, as well as salary increases for 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

In addition, the agreement:

• Eliminates longevity pay for new hires
• Freezes longevity pay for current employees and eliminates longevity advancement
• Eliminates 10 additional sick days to employees after reaching 25 years of service

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