West Orange Teachers Get Closer To New Contract, Students Hold Walkout

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The teachers and support staff of the West Orange Public School District have been working without a contract since 2015. But according to school administrators, the employees responsible for educating the children and teens of West Orange will soon have a new work agreement in place.

Earlier this week, the West Orange Board of Education (BOE) and the West Orange Education Association (WOEA) reported that they have reached a “tentative agreement with regard to health benefits and salary increases,” possibly heralding the end of a contentious negotiation process that West Orange Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky previously likened to the Sandy Hook shooting in Newton, Connecticut.

• See related article: West Orange Superintendent Compares Union Talks to Sandy Hook Shooting
• See related article: West Orange Teachers Boycott Back To School Night

Patch reached out to the BOE, Superintendent Rutzky and the WOEA seeking more specific details about the tentative agreement. Each declined to comment for this story, citing ongoing negotiations and an agreement that still needs to be ratified by the union’s members.

However, Rutzky told Patch on Wednesday that “the two big elephants in the room are agreed to at this point.”

The BOE provided the following statement about the tentative agreement with the union.

“We are extremely pleased to announced that after discussions with the WOEA, a tentative agreement was reached on April 17 on health benefits and salary increases only. There are still specific details to be negotiated. However, we are extremely optimistic that this process is coming to a close and all parties will be satisfied.”

If the agreement is ratified, some of the happiest stakeholders may be the students themselves.

Shortly before the tentative agreement was announced, hundreds of West Orange High School students organized a huge walkout and rally at Suriano Stadium on Monday in support of their teachers.

The students, many clad in red to show support for their teachers, walked out to the adjacent football stadium and stayed there for an entire class period to protest the stagnated contract disputes, TAP Into West Orange reported.

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However, despite the goodwill generated by the tentative agreement, there may be a rocky road ahead for teachers and staff in West Orange. According to Rutzky, the district’s proposed 2017-18 budget – which faces a multi-million shortfall - still includes several possible staffing cuts including:

• 2 Supervisors
• 2 Assistant Principals
• 13 Teachers
• 20 FT and 4 PT Paraprofessionals
• 3 Administrative Assistants
• 1 Clerical Aide
• 1 Technology Technician

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File photo: Wikimedia Commons