By AUBRIE GEORGE
The Moorestown Board of Education and the Moorestown Administrator’s Association have come to an agreement on a new contract, which includes salary and health-care concessions from the district’s administrative staff.
The three-year agreement includes no salary increase for administrators in 2011 followed by a 2 percent increase in 2012 and 2013.
MAA members have also agreed to contribute 1.5 percent of their salary toward their health benefits.
“The Board of Education respects MAA for their reasonableness and willingness to compromise in these negotiations,” Don Mishler, BOE president, said in a statement released by the school district.
“We are pleased to have reached agreement so promptly. This new contract is both fair and realistic and recognizes the current economy and the economic constraints now placed on the Board of Education.”
Under the new contract, the MAA agreed to switch to a healthcare plan with a lower cost and to implement a Cafeteria Plan, which establishes individual Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) that allow employees to set aside portions of their earnings to pay for qualified expenses included in the plan.
The MAA also agreed to concessions in supplementary insurance plans including Board contribution for a disability plan.
Also under the agreement, all elementary school principals will be converted from 10.5-month employees to 12-month employees.
The new contract will go into effect on July 1, 2011, following the expiration of the MAA’s current contract in June 2011.
Officials said the agreement would allow them to realize savings and effectively plan for the 2011–12 school budget.
After the MAA and BOE agreed to negotiate a new contract earlier, members met this fall to begin hashing out the terms.
“MAA entered into this negotiation understanding that business is not the same as usual in New Jersey, and therefore, not in Moorestown,” Andrew Seibel, MAA president and Moorestown High School principal, said. “We believe the Board’s negotiated offer recognizes the sensitive nature of the economy and the overall value of this administration to the district.”
Meanwhile, the Board is still in the process of hashing out a contract with the local teachers union.The two parties are preparing to enter into the fact-finding stage of the impasse process after initial negotiations and a mediation process were unsuccessful in producing an agreeable resolution.
The fact-finding stage is a structured procedure that involves an appointed fact-finder who will collect information from both parties and deliver a report with specific recommendations for settlement.
The fact-finding phase is likely to take several months to complete. The primary issue at large in the negotiations between the Board and the MEA continues to be salary and benefits.
