After teachers boycotted Back-To-School Night over their contract, the criticism teachers received was "unfortunate," said Tenafly Board of Education President Edward Salaski.
A file photo of a "welcome back" sign. (Jerry McCrea)
TENAFLY -- News of a Back-to-School teachers union boycott led to some dissatisfied parents in Tenafly, and some negative comments directed toward teachers, but the teacher-bashing is "unfortunate," a school official said.
"The public will begin to criticize the teachers for things that are not at all related to what's really going on. I think that's unfortunate," Tenafly Board of Education President Edward Salaski said.
Contract negotiations have stalled over concerns about salaries and healthcare contributions, officials said. As a result, the board and the union are receiving the help of a state mediator, who met with them in July, Salaski said. The contract expired in June.
"The board is very much interested in not getting caught up in rhetoric... but really just getting together, speaking with the teachers association, and getting a new contract negotiated," Salaski said.
RELATED: Teachers skip Back-to-School Night over stalled contract, report says
"We definitely recognize the very, very high value that our teachers provide to the district and to the children," he said. "Of course the board is disappointed that the teachers chose to not participate in Back-To-School Night but I don't think that's a reason that (people) should start hurling insults at teacher or denigrating the job they do."
According to Jackie Wellman, president of the Tenafly Education Association, what the public and some parents may not realize is that teachers have been working longer hours as a result of additional mandates, and yet they are still taking less money home, because healthcare contributions are increasing.
This year, she said, the top-earners making $101,000 will be paying $9,000 to $10,000 a year in contributions, instead of around $6,500. Some other schools offer top salaries around $110,000.
"The problem really has been that the past four years, not our salaries but our actual take-home pay has significantly decreased," Wellman said. "People are at the top of the guide are paying anything from 32 to 35 percent of the cost of the insurance."
People are going from paying $640 a month for healthcare to $940, Wellman said. Teachers at the top of the guide have paid for a master's degree plus 32 credits, and "to get to the top of the guide takes 19 years," she said.
"Our parent community knows that Tenafly is one of the highest educationally ranking districts in the state. They assume that our district is one of the highest-paying districts in the state. That's not the case," she said, pointing out that many parents support the teachers. "I think we're ranked 30 out of approximately 75 districts in Bergen County... (which is) one of the most expensive counties to live in."
The district superintendent has not returned a request for comment.
According to New Jersey Department of Education spokesman David Saenz, there is "no state statute or regulations compelling teachers to attend (Back-To-School Night)." Conditions addressing this issue could however be in the teachers' contract with the district, he said.
The previous contract, Salaski said, included raises for teachers, but he was unable to comment on whether it included a stipulation about Back-to-School Night. He said the administrators, who were present at Back-To-School Night to offer parents "a lot of valuable information about the school," believed it was not a "voluntary" activity; the teachers disagreed.
He said that the district, struggling with the state-mandated 2 percent property tax cap, is trying to look at its resources and see what it can give teachers, while accounting for major, uncontrollable expenses, like special education costs and infrastructure repairs. He said what the board is proposing "is comparable" to other districts' settlements.
"We have to be able to be fiscally responsible," Salaski said. "The money has to come from somewhere."
UPDATE: Wellman said on Saturday that Back to School Night is not in the contract and it is not an "obligation" for teachers. She said the union informed the superintendent in the middle of June, prior to leaving for the summer, that if a settlement was not reached by the scheduled state-mediated negotiation session on July 23, teachers would not attend Back-To-School Nights in September.
"At the end of August, prior to school starting, I reminded her of our position once again. I had a third conversation with her on September 1st, reiterating our position. I was extremely clear and gave the Superintendent/Board of Education ample notice to our intentions," Wellman said.
The average teacher pay in the district is $75,000, she said, and over the past several contracts "four steps" were added to the pay guide, and teacher pay was frozen in 2009-2010.
Salaski has not yet responded to a Saturday inquiry about the board's notice of the Back to School Night boycott.
Correction: A previous version of this story said it takes 16 years to get to the top of the guide. It takes 19 years. We regret the error.
Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.