Christie to Unveil Toolkit Soon

The Christie Administration will unveil legislation next week to implement its long-awaited “toolkit” aimed at helping local school board control costs, Commissioner of Education Bret Schundler told the Assembly Budget Committee on Monday.

“The pressure on school districts to … cut employee numbers will continue until we solve districts’ structural financial problems by bringing the pace at which their salary and benefit costs are rising in line with the pace at which our state economy is growing,” he said.

“It would be ridiculous for anyone to imagine that school boards are all spineless and superintendents are all incompetent and that’s why costs are soaring in every school district,” the commissioner testified. “The pervasive financial distress you see in our school districts is the product of state laws.

“Past state leaders created districts’ structural financial problems and only you and the governor can solve it.”

Contract Limit The toolkit would require executive county superintendent approval of all collective bargaining agreements. To receive approval, a contract could not increase annual salary and benefit costs by more than 2.5 percent, must provide employee cost-sharing of health benefits, must require five hours of teaching time per day, must specify a minimum number of workdays, and not bar subcontracting of ancillary services.

Last Best Offer The toolkit would also restore local school boards’ ability to implement their last best offer when negotiations are exhausted. That concept, prevalent in public sector labor law nationwide, was eliminated from New Jersey school district bargaining in 2003 as a result of legislation backed by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). Although seldom implemented, last best offer strengthened school boards’ position in collective bargaining by providing a tool to counter union threats of job actions and by encouraging unions to bargain in earnest.

2.5% Cap Other toolkit components would provide relief from unfunded mandates and would establish a 2.5 percent hard cap on local government and school district property tax levies, as well as state government operations. The cap would be established through a constitutional amendment presented to voters in November.

School tax levies are currently controlled by a 4 percent cap that provides exceptions for unanticipated cost increases and losses of revenue.

Pension Reform Significantly, the toolkit would extend to current employees some of the recent pension and benefit reforms that apply to newly hired school district staff. The changes would involve adjusting the method of calculating future pension credits and capping payment upon retirement for unused leave time.

The changes would go into effect August 1 and apply to pension credits earned, and retirements that take place, after that date. As a result, employees at or near retirement age may decide to leave their positions, giving school boards flexibility in meeting staffing needs, according to the commissioner.

Schundler discounted NJEA statements that the changes would result in retirement of up to 30,000 teachers statewide, causing severe problems for school districts that would have to fill those positions a month before the start of school.

“New Jersey’s teachers are not in the profession merely for free health care and because of their current pension benefits formula,” he said. “The wonderful people we have in the system teach because they feel called to the noble work of teaching. Thus, if we do have a higher-than-usual number retire, it will be teachers who have been thinking about retiring in the next year or two...

“Rest assured that the governor’s toolkit will include reforms making it practicable for school districts to hire a higher-than-usual number of new teachers,” Schundler testified.

“In fact, with the average salary and benefits costs for a teacher in his or her first three years of service only half that of a teacher nearing retirement, we could see districts enter the new school year with the same staffing levels they enjoy today despite over $1 billion districts have lost in federal stimulus funds.”

Election Change The toolkit would also move local school board member elections to the November General Election. It is not clear whether the legislation would also result in the elimination of the annual vote on the local school district base budget.

In the past, many local school board members opposed proposals that would require them to run for office in the partisan November elections.

NJSBA to Assess The toolkit legislation is still under development, and details about the proposals are not yet available, according to Schundler. Once the legislation is released, NJSBA will evaluate the proposals and implement a strategy to advocate local school boards’ position on the bills.

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