New Jersey School Boards Association, 413 West State Street, P.O. Box 909, Trenton, NJ  08605-0909
Telephone: (609) 278-5202  ●  Fax: (609) 695-0413  ●  Web site: www.njsba.org/PI 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contract Negotiations Continue in 105 Districts

New School Finance Law, S-1701, Expected to Have Impact on Future Bargaining

TRENTON, September 1, 2004—As schools reopen across New Jersey, 105 districts remain in negotiations with their teachers’ unions, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association.

For 2004-05, 196 of the state’s 593 operating school districts have been negotiating new teacher contracts. Of those, 105, or 53.5%, are still at the bargaining table.  (Last August, 64%, or 112, of the 176 districts negotiating new agreements were still bargaining.)

“The seemingly large number of school districts still in negotiations should not alarm parents or students,” said Edwina M. Lee, NJSBA executive director.   “Normally, the status of contract negotiations does not affect school openings. That’s because teachers in New Jersey never work ‘without a contract.’  Until a new agreement is reached, the previous contract remains in effect with its guarantees of salaries and benefits, as well as all of its protections.”

Future Impact of S-1701  Lee noted, however, that a recent state law that makes significant changes in school district financial operations could become a factor in future contract negotiations.

“With its forced reduction of surplus, restrictions on school budgeting practices, and smaller budget caps, the new law—referred to as S-1701—will be a serious consideration for both sides at the bargaining table in the future,” Lee explained.

Preliminary results of an NJSBA survey indicate widespread concern among school officials over S-1701’s potential impact on collective bargaining, including the prospect of prolonged negotiations in the future.

S-1701 was enacted by the Governor and Legislature in July.

Trends and Issues  While S-1701 is expected to influence collective bargaining in the future, long-standing issues continue to dominate 2004-05 contract negotiations. These concerns include the escalating cost of fringe benefits, increased instructional time and projected staffing needs.

·        Health insurance costs: Employee health coverage is the fastest growing area of compensation. NJSBA data show that approximately 48% of this year's contracts provide some form of control over health insurance costs.  The statistic marks the continuation of a long-term trend: Each year, for the past five years, 40% to 50% of new teacher contracts contained provisions to rein in health benefit costs, according to NJSBA.  Approaches taken to control costs include greater co-payments on prescription plans, employee contributions to the basic medical plan, increased deductibles, and tiered benefits (such as placing new employees in managed-care programs).

Insurance costs have made these cost-control efforts necessary, according to NJSBA.  In 2003, for example, the State Health Benefits Program—the largest health care insurer in New Jersey's school districts—increased its premiums by 22.9% for traditional coverage and 27.4% for its major managed-care option.  For 2004, the rate increases were 8.1% and 10.4%, respectively.

·        Salary increases: The average salary increase for all settled contracts covering the 2004-05 school year is 4.68%, up slightly from last year's average of 4.62%, according to NJSBA.

·        Increased class time: Nearly one- third of the 2004-05 school contracts (30%) contain provisions for longer school days or longer school years.  Efforts to increase work time reflect a trend that began in the late 1990s in response to new state academic standards and requirements for teacher professional development. "The additional time could go toward classroom instruction or professional development for teachers," said Lee. "Both efforts are designed to benefit our students."

·        Attracting and retaining teachers: After agreeing to an overall salary increase, school boards are actively negotiating the distribution of the raises on the salary guide.  Salary guide development is crucial to a board’s ability to attract and retain the staff needed to meet its educational goals, according to NJSBA.

“The goal of the local board of education in negotiations is to advance a quality educational program, while not overburdening local property taxpayers," explained Lee.

"This has been a difficult year for school districts in terms of funding,” she continued.  “They have received an inadequate level of state aid, while facing greater state restriction over their financial operations.  At the same time, they must pay rising costs for health benefits, insurance, utilities and fuel—while trying to address education staffing needs."

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