Tensions Between Administration, Teachers' Union Rise in South Brunswick

South Brunswick, NJ - Trouble is brewing in South Brunswick public schools.

The teachers' union, which represents the 700-some teachers in the district, has filed four separate grievances against the school district. Two of those complaints have been specifically filed against Superintendent Dr. Jerry Jellig.

Additionally, the president of the South Brunswick Board of Education, Dr. Stephen Parker, said at the most recent April 25 board meeting that he could neither “confirm nor deny” whether the Board is conducting its own internal investigation into Jellig's administration, reports TAP Into.

Union complaints against Jellig may head to court

According to John Lolli, president of the South Brunswick Education Association, Jellig and the Board of Education have ignored all four grievances his union has filed, and two of the matters have now entered arbitration. Lawyers representing both sides — the teachers and the school district — are currently arguing the issue in Trenton.

If they cannot reach an agreement, the case will go to a civil court hearing.

Tension has been simmering since Jellig first came aboard as the schools superintendent on July 1, 2014, Lolli said. Jellig did not return multiple attempts by Patch to interview him for this article.

One of the grievances was reportedly an unfair labor practice complaint filed by the union after Jellig allegedly reprimanded two South Brunswick high school teachers for things they said during a union meeting in late 2015.

Lolli said that is in direct violation of union laws protecting members from retribution from superiors.

Because the matter is now in court, Lolli said he is unable to explain what the other complaints are over. But he did say there is a pervasive, "anti-union" attitude coming from the administration.

"Right now we are mostly looking to be heard," Lolli told Patch on Monday. "There's a feeling of anti-unionism from this administration, and a feeling of trying to break up the union and intimidate teachers."

Lolli is also the AP economics teacher at South Brunswick High.

Tensions with superintendent simmering for two years

Frustrations between the South Brunswick Education Association and Jellig have been slowly escalating for the past two years, Lolli said, and are only now being made public.

"The union used to work well with past administrations," Lolli said. "We would have issues and we would sit down at a table with the past superintendent and talk it out. But we started having problems about six months after Jellig took office."

Lolli said it's not just Jellig who appears to be picking a fight with the union: In October of 2015, South Brunswick High School Principal Peter Varela sent an email to all high school teachers, blaming the union for canceling five clubs because it would not agree on stipends. That email was intimidating, Lolli said.

Varela did not return Patch's email for a comment.

Unconfirmed rumors of an investigation into Jellig's administration

At the April 25 South Brunswick Board of Education meeting, resident Lee Blankstein publicly asked the board if an “investigation” into the administration is taking place, as he had heard.

Board president Dr. Stephen Parker said he could “neither confirm nor deny” such an investigation.

Nobody will say what any potential investigation, should one exist, is about. The next South Brunswick Board of Ed. meeting is May 9.

Mass departures in the administration raise eyebrows

Since Jellig took office, there have been at least five high-ranking departures from his administration.

They are: Business Administrator Anthony Tonzini (leaving June 30); Assistant Superintendent Joanne Kerekes; the director of grounds; the human resources director and the director of professional development.

"23 years in the business, 28 in the pension system, I am excited to try a new venture," Tonzini told Patch Tuesday when asked why he was leaving.

After Jellig, Kerekes and Tonzini held the top two positions in the school district, and their departures raised eyebrows. Kerekes, a longtime and popular administrator, announced she was leaving in February and left March 18, before the school year was even finished.

"These are all people who really cared about the state of South Brunswick public schools and our students," said Lolli Monday. "Why are they leaving? Why under our new superintendent are they all leaving?"

Jellig addressed the matter in a March 18 letter sent home to parents, where he said that the number of people leaving the district was not unusual, and that he was "excited" about the opportunities to bring in new people. He did not answer Patch's questions about the departures.

Photo: South Brunswick High School