After 16 months of intense negotiations, the Moorestown Board of Education and the Moorestown Education Association ratified new three-year contracts for all members of the MEA.
The contracts will run through June 30, 2013. According to BOE representatives, the new contracts will not have an effect on the school tax rate for the first year of the three-year deal.
“It is not a perfect settlement, however, we believe that it is fair. It was ratified overwhelmingly by the Association members,” MEA President Lisa Tripani said. “The MEA is, and has always been, a union of professionals who work in education. We will continue to provide an excellent educational experience to the students in the district. While we are all relieved that we are beginning school with a contract, we also lived through a difficult year last year. The MEA will move forward, always with the same goal to provide an excellent educational experience to the students in the district.”
The final settlement of the three-year contract equals a cumulative 6.5 percent increase, though it is not universal across all staff salaries, Alexandroff read from a prepared BOE statement. Newer teachers between steps one through seven will have their salary increase in the first year. For teachers above step seven there is no salary increase in year one, but the BOE agreed to a one-time payment of 1 percent based on salary.
Staff will also continue to pay 1.5 percent of their salary towards health care, with new employees contributing between 10 to 20 percent of health care costs. As required by law, in the third year of the contract all employees will pay between 5 to 17.5 percent for their health care premiums.
Finally, both the BOE and the MEA have agreed to form a subcommittee that will analyze the salary guides. The committee will have three members of the BOE and MEA and will meet monthly starting in January with the goal of presenting an optimized salary guide by Oct. 1, 2012, according to BOE representatives.
The contracts were ratified by the BOE on Wednesday, Sept. 7, with a unanimous vote. Because of his role in the negotiations, BOE President Don Mishler had to abstain from the vote.
It’s a shame, he said, because he was looking forward to casting a vote in favor of the contracts.
“Tonight we will start to rebuild, revitalize, and reinvigorate,” Mishler said. “Is this contract perfect? No, but no contract ever is.”
Amy Penwell, one of the few visitors at the ratification meeting last week, said the news is fantastic. Penwell currently has two children in the Moorestown Township Public School District.
She was delighted that the teachers will begin this new school year with contracts.
