Union, Board of Education Expected to Vote on Outsourcing Today

The Board of Education tonight will hear the result of votes that may impact the jobs of more than 60 district employees.

The schools' two unions, the Glen Rock Education Association and Glen Rock Administrators Association, will caucus this afternoon to decide on modifications to health care contributions.

According to district Superintendent David Verducci, the one-year contract amendment on which the unions are voting could trim the schools' 2011-2012 budget enough for the BOE to agree to hold off staff outsourcing for yet another year.

Last year the GREA agreed to concessions, including a one-year pay freeze, in order to fight back custodial outsourcing, according to published reports.

"The goal here is to take outsourcing off the table, at least for another year if at all possible," Verducci said last week. "And to do it in a way that will not undermine the district's financial future.”

If both unions OK the contract modifications, the exact details of which won't be made public until later tonight, the 9-member Board of Education could vote to delay outsourcing during their public meeting tonight at 8 p.m. at the High School.

Board of Education President Rona McNabola, who has served on the board for more than 20 years, said she empathizes with the possibility of losing members of the school district to outsourcing, but that the board must consider how to bridge budgetary concerns going forward without hurting students.

"I hate to say it, but [custodians are] the ones that least effect the educational program," McNabola said. She also noted that "Ridgewood outsourced their custodians almost 20 years ago."

Even without Gov. Chris Christie's 2 percent cap on tax increases this year, McNabola stressed, outsourcing "would have been a discussion" during talks for the 2011-2012 budget. According to McNabola staffing accounts for about 77 percent of the upcoming budget.

The community, who will be asked to vote on the school budget in April, may attend the BOE meeting at 8 p.m. in the High School Media Center.