For the first time since June of 2013, the teachers in the Shamong Township School district have a contract.
At the June 17 Shamong Township Board of Education meeting the board ratified the contract between the Shamong BOE and the Shamong Township Education Association, dated July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2016.
Board president Melissa Ciliberti said she was relived.
“It was a long time coming,” Ciliberti said. “We were able to finalize the teacher’s contract and the principal/admin contract. Very pleased and happy to return our attention fully to planning for next school year.”
The history of the negotiations between the two sides was long and often times contentious.
Discussions between the board and STEA started in December of 2012, with negotiations still underway by the spring of 2013.
The contract was set to expire in June of 2013, and when the two sides failed to reach an agreement by the contract’s expiration, the two sides then moved into discussions with a state appointed mediator.
By September of 2013 discussions between the two sides with the state appointed mediator had lasted three sessions, but the STEA and board ultimately failed to reach an agreement.
At that point at the two sides entered into fact finding.
In fact finding both sides attempted to settle their disputes by having each party submit their disagreements to a panel consisting of a neutral chair, employee representative and an employer representative.
That panel then issued a report and recommendations, although the recommendations were nonbinding, and failed to bring the two sides together.
Throughout the discussions members of the public spoke at many of the board meetings, some expressing their support for the teachers, some expressing their support for the school board, and some expressing support for any decision that brought the two sides into agreement.
Some members of the public hoped hoped that an increase in state aid might solve any salary disputes in the contract negotiations, but only a small increase in state aid was announced, and most of that was earmarked for other specific areas.
Adding to the stress between the two sides this spring were the allegations in a state ethics complaint filed by former Shamong School Board President Diane Tallaksen.
Tallaksen alleged that Shamong School Board member Greg Vitagliano, a negotiator in the contract talks between the board and teachers union, publically made negative posts about teachers on Facebook in 2013 that violated state School Ethics Act provisions.
Shamong Township Education Association President Karen Clementicalled for Vitagliano’s resignation and asked the board to censure him.
At the time Vitagliano expressed that he would not resign. Vitagliano was not present at the June 17 meeting when the contract was approved.
