South Orange-Maplewood Education Association

For Immediate Release

Tonight the SOMEA Negotiations team stands before you ready to finalize a three-year contract so that both the District and its staff can focus their efforts where they belong: on educating children.

On February 15th, the District advised it is willing to pay its teachers a 12% increase over three years as follows:

• 5% plus guide enhancement of $628,000 on year 1,
• 75% plus guide enhancement of $314,000 on year 2, and
• 75% plus guide enhancement of $314,000 on year 3.

These numbers were publicized by the Board on February 24th as 4.5% on year 1, 4.25% on year 2, and 3.25% on year 3. Thus, by the District’s calculations, each 0.5% in salary increase is worth $314.000.

From the start, SOMEA has maintained it needs a total salary increase of 12.74% over three years in an attempt to gain parity in pay to neighboring districts as follows:

• 14% in year 1,
• 3% in year 2, and
• 3% in year 3.

In short, the District and SOMEA are 0.74% apart in position, which is only $464,720 away from agreement.

As a result of state employees’ agreement to Chapter 44, New Jersey gave every district in the state insurance program a rebate for February 2022. Accordingly, the District was relieved from making insurance contributions in the amount of nearly $1,000,000 this month for which it had already budgeted. Thus, the District has a surplus of close to $1,000,000 which it had already budgeted to spend on its employees. So in agreeing to SOMEA’s salary proposal of an additional $464,720, the District has the money readily available without even investigating the extensive monies in its unallocated budget surplus from the prior years.

It likewise stands to reason SOMEA should not pay for own salary increases by agreeing to provisions which allow administration:

• to direct Columbia High School teachers to teach an additional sixth class for a non-pensionable per diem rate,
• to direct middle school teachers to serve an additional duty without additional pay, or
• to direct elementary school teachers to lose part of their lunch to supervise students eating lunch at a reduced rate of pay instead of using lunch

Let’s meet tonight. The Association is ready to stay here as long as it takes tonight to settle a contract. We urge the Board to meet with us in good faith. We are even here without our NJEA representative to achieve a settlement that is equitable to the teachers to ensure the future quality of this educational system. Please, let’s do it tonight!