The WW-P school board is expected to approve contracts with the superintendent and the district’s three assistant superintendents at the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, June 24.##M:[more]##
The board held a public hearing on Tuesday, June 10, on the four contracts, which are separate from the negotiations the board is currently having with its five unions — the Education Association, which serves the teachers; the service association, which is for the support staff; the administrators association, which is for principals and supervisors and was approved at the board’s June 10 meeting; the foreman’s association, for the district foremen; and the support staff-supervisors association.
According to district spokeswoman Gerri Hutner, the review of the contracts for the superintendent and the three assistant superintendents was simply mandated by state law. “A new regulation went into effect, where the boards of education must have a public hearing on the contracts for the superintendent and assistant superintendent of schools” every year, she said. “These individuals are not in a union. They have specific work contracts for a period of time.” This is to give the public a chance to review the contract and make comments, Hutner said.
She said the board will vote whether to approve the contracts at a future meeting, most likely on Tuesday, June 24.
The contract with Superintendent Victoria Kniewel was signed in 2007, and is in place through 2011. The contract states that Kniewel’s salary for the 2007-’08 year was $179,”000, and that her salary for the remainder of the term of her contract would be determined by the board, but should not be less than $179,”000 each year. “The board agrees to review Dr. Kniewel’s salary at the conclusion of each school year of employment, and at least annually thereafter,” the contract states. “The parties agree that future salary determination by the board will be based on her performance evaluation.” The contract also establishes Kniewel’s sick leave, benefit packages, and establishes her duties.
Board Vice President Robert Johnson confirmed after the June 10 meeting that there were no changes in Kniewel’s contracts or the contracts for any of the assistant superintendents. He said that typically, the superintendent and assistant superintendents get some sort of raise once a year, but that those raises “have not been assigned yet.” Those raises would be on the agenda in a future meeting, he said.
The contract negotiations with the WW-P administrators association yielded a three-year contract from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2011. The association is composed of 41 members, including principals assistants, principals supervisors, and directors of educational programs throughout the district, said board member Ellen Walsh, who sat on the board committee tasked with the negotiations. She said she was informed by the association’s president, Chuck Rudnick, also the principal at High School South, that the members of the administrators association had voted unanimously to ratify the agreement earlier on June 10. The contract calls for the members to receive pay increases of 4 percent for the 2008-09 school year, 3.95 percent increase for the 2009-10 year, and 3.8 percent for the 2010-2011 year.
The contract also calls for an increase in prescription co-pays from $7 for generic and $15 for brand names and two times the applicable co-pay for mail order to $10/$20/2x, effective July 1, 2010. The contract also contains an increase in dental deductible from $30 for individual and $60 for maximum family to $40/$80, effective January 1, 2011. Other highlights of the contract included a cap of $2,”350 on reimbursement for professional organization dues and conference expenses, with dues and conference expenses subject to the approval of the superintendent of schools. A new medical insurance plan, the School Employees Health Benefits Program, will be in effect on July 1, 2008.
Board President Hemant Marathe said in a statement that “the 41 members of the WWP Administrators Association are dedicated professionals who continue to work to improve the educational programs of our district. We believe this settlement is a fair and reasonable settlement.”
A standing room only crowd of district teachers, who had come from a teacher awards ceremony before the meeting, filled the Grover Middle School cafeteria during the board meeting. The school board and teachers union have not yet settled on a new contract.
“I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to attend a meeting with all of my colleagues in honor of excellence in the district,” said teachers association president Debbie Baer during the meeting. “We all are hopeful that our excellence will also be recognized with a contract.”
Johnson said the board also wished for “a very successful resolution” to the contract negotiations. After the meeting, Baer declined to comment on the matter because of the ongoing “confidential negotiation process.” Said Baer: “The board is being respectful, and we’re being respectful back.”
Two local residents weighed in on the matter. Jim Looney, a resident of Hathaway Drive in West Windsor, said his daughter graduated in 2003. “I’d like to thank the board because you do give service to our school and our community, but my daughter benefited from gong to High School South and Community Middle School,” Looney said. “She benefited from the music program, the sports programs, and we moved here because of the school district. I just want to encourage the board and everyone involved to come to an agreement for the contract we can all be a happy with because I think all of us share a common goal in keeping our school district one of the best that I know of in the state and country.”
Quentin Walsh, of Petty Road in Plainsboro and also board member Ellen Walsh’s husband, said he wanted to thank all of the teachers who worked in the district and that he had two children who graduated from the district. However he said, last year West Windsor residents voted down the school budget, and Plainsboro voters voted in favor with enough votes to pass the budget.
But, “this is the year that the tax split on student enrollment starts fading in, and so very likely, Plainsboro’s going to see some tax increase, if not a significant tax increase in the coming year,” Walsh said. “With that in mind, I would encourage you to remember to be prudent, and the days of just allowing large increases in the school budget or in the school tax rate are probably behind you. You’re just going to face more challenging decisions as you try to manage the district budget to be able to satisfy all the constituents.”
