West Orange Teachers, BOE Reach ‘Tentative’ Contract Agreement: Officials

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A heated contract negotiation session between West Orange school administrators and the local teacher’s union may have come to an end, officials reported Monday.

The West Orange Board of Education announced Monday that its members and the West Orange Education Association (WOEA) have reached a “tentative agreement” on a new contract. Members of the union - which represents the district’s teachers, paraprofessionals, administrative assistants, computer technicians and security officers – have been working without a contract for more than 600 days.

• See related article: West Orange Teacher, BOE Contract Battle Continues
• See related article: WATCH: Teacher Protest Continues In West Orange

According to the board, the tentative contract includes “health benefits” and “salary increases.”

The contract negotiations reached a bitter stalemate over the past year, with West Orange teachers launching a high-profile boycott of the district’s annual Back-To-School Night in September of 2016.

“Our morale is at an all-time low,” a WOEA member said at the time.

• See related article: West Orange Teachers Boycott Back To School Night

In December, West Orange Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky inspired controversy by comparing the increasingly bitter contract negotiations to the tragic Sandy Hook shooting in Newton, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six staff members in 2012.

• See related article: West Orange Superintendent Compares Union Talks to Sandy Hook Shooting

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Photo: West Orange Board of Education