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CONTACT:        Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org)                                                     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                        Mike Yaple (myaple@njsba.org)
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Teacher Contract Negotiations Continue in 120 School Districts

TRENTON, August 22, 2006—As the first day of school approaches, approximately 120 New Jersey school districts remain in contract negotiations, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. The negotiations, however, should not affect the opening of schools.

“It has become increasingly common for districts to be in the midst of contract negotiations when their school year begins,” said Edwina M. Lee, NJSBA executive director. “The status of negotiations should not be a cause of alarm.”

This year, 193 of New Jersey’s 593 operating school districts returned to the bargaining table to negotiate new teacher contracts. Of those, roughly 120 remain in negotiations.

Last year, more than 100 of the 199 school districts negotiating new contracts in New Jersey were still at the table Sept. 1. Usually, a large number of school district contracts are settled in the fall.

“Until a new pact is reached, teachers are covered by their old contracts, including their salaries, health benefits and other employment protections,” Lee said. “Public school teachers never work without a contract. When a new contract is approved, any changes may be applied retroactively.”

Salary Increases The average salary increase for contracts covering the 2006-07 school year is 4.65 percent, slightly below last year’s average increase of 4.7 percent, according to NJSBA data. That rate is far below the statewide average in the early 1990s. For example, in the 1990-1991 school year, teacher raises averaged more than 9 percent.

Controlling Benefit Costs Leading the list of trends in bargaining is cost control of fringe benefits, particularly health insurance.

This year, 56 percent of the new teacher contracts contain clauses to control the rapidly escalating costs of health benefits, according to NJSBA. The trend corresponds to the surge in health insurance premium costs that have surpassed inflation.

“Health insurance is the fastest growing area of teacher compensation. School boards must act in the interest of taxpayers to help control these burgeoning costs, while still giving teachers a fair and competitive compensation package,” Lee said. “It is a difficult balance, but one worth pursuing for the overall financial stability in our state.”

Other Trends Other issues at the bargaining table this year involve anticipated staffing needs, restrictions on tuition reimbursement, and lengthening the school day or year.

  • Salary structure: School boards are negotiating with unions over construction of salary guides, which determine the distribution of pay raises. For many districts, the goal is to make entry-level salaries more competitive and to retain recently hired staff, according to NJSBA. The strategy addresses the need in many districts to adequately staff schools in the face of growing student enrollment and/or anticipated teacher retirements.

    • In addition, many school boards have negotiated provisions to give school officials discretion over placement of newly hired staff on the salary guide. This approach can help districts recruit staff for positions in high-demand subject areas such as high school mathematics, science or special education.

  • Restrictions on tuition reimbursement: NJSBA also reports that more school districts are negotiating limits—in terms of dollars or course credits—on tuition reimbursement. Strategies include negotiating caps on district reimbursement expenses where none existed, or the tightening of existing caps. Other limits on tuition reimbursement include requiring employees to repay the school district for courses taken if they leave the district before a particular date; increasing the grade that an employee must receive to be eligible for reimbursement; and applying stricter reimbursement limits for newly hired teachers.


  • Longer school days and year: Twenty-four percent of the 2006-2007 contracts settled to date contain provisions for longer school days or longer academic school years, NJSBA research indicates. 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.

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    The New Jersey School Boards Association, a federation of district boards of education, advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.

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