New deal gives teachers annual raises of 4.75%
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK - A new contract ratified last week brings an end to a lengthy and at times contentious period of negotiations with the teachers' union and Board of Education.

The new deal, officially approved at the Feb. 22 Board of Education meeting, provides a 4.75 percent salary increase in each of the three years covered under the contract. It also includes a progressively increasing co-payment for prescription drugs over the first two years, according to board President Holly Howard.

"The board believes that the new contract balances the need for fiscal efficiency with the need to maintain our excellent staff," Howard said.

The union, called the East Brunswick Education Association, represents more than 1,300 teachers, instructional aides, bus drivers, custodians, secretaries, cafeteria workers and computer tech personnel.

Though most of the provisions of the new contract remain unchanged from the previous three-year deal, which expired in June, there are some differences. The prior contract included raises of 4.95 percent, 5 percent and 5.25 percent, as opposed to this year's 4.75 percent salary increases.

Howard noted that the union will have a vision plan for the first time. The plan covers up to $100 for frames, lenses and contact lenses per covered individual each calendar year,

Howard said.

In addition, there is a 3 percent increase in pensionable stipends for each year of the contract. However, nonpensionable stipends will be frozen for the first two years and the increase by 3.5 percent in the third year.

Another part of the new deal includes an increase in student contact time for some members of the instructional staff, Howard said.

Board members voted to accept the new deal, though Scott Luxenberg abstained and Stacy Bravman was not in attendance.

"I know that we are all pleased to put closure on the negotiations process and move forward," Howard said. "I want again to thank all those who participated in the negotiations process."

The new deal, being negotiated since December 2005, didn't come without its share of drama.

The union held a rally in November that was attended by hundreds and preceded what turned out to be an all-night negotiations session. Though the sides reached a tentative agreement in that session, the union sought mediation again in January. Meanwhile, it was reported that some teachers were protesting the lack of a contract by cutting out extra services such as coming to school early or staying late to work with students.

Though a new contract was not in place, teachers were working under the terms of the former contract since June. The new contract will be retroactive to cover the current school year.