The summer of 2015 came and went, yet there was little news regarding contract negotiations between the Cherry Hill Board of Education and the Cherry Hill Education Association.
CHEA members have been working without a contract since June 30, 2014. Despite this, CHEA and the board have not sat down for negotiations since June 1. At the meeting, the board said the CHEA negotiating team walked out of the session 90 minutes after making an offer. The board said it offered CHEA members a salary increase close to the county average, while CHEA President Martin Sharofsky said the salary increase was minimal, amounting to approximately $1.85 per paycheck before taxes.
After the June 1 meeting, negotiations were sent to a state-appointed fact-finder. A fact-finding hearing was held with both sides on Sept. 3, and results from the hearing are expected in early November.
In the meantime, CHEA members began working a second consecutive school year without a contract, and frustration is quickly spreading to parents, students and others in the community.
Parents express frustration on social media
A day before the Sept. 3 fact-finding hearing, a new page named “Parents for Cherry Hill Teachers” appeared on Facebook. Within a couple days, the page had more than 1,000 likes and became filled with posts from frustrated parents who wanted to see an end to the impasse.
The founder of the page is Robert Weaver, the father of a Cooper Elementary first-grade student. Weaver became disgruntled with the progress with negotiations and specifically the board’s treatment of CHEA members.
“Parents were already engaged,” Weaver said. “But there wasn’t a central location for parents. That’s why I wanted to start the page.”
Weaver cited the June 9 board of education meeting, where CHEA members and the board exchanged words about the failure of the June 1 negotiating session, as a tipping point for many parents.
“You’re not trying to negotiate if you’re not trying to come close to a respectable number,” Weaver said. “A number that puts us at the county average or higher will actually respect our teachers.”
The Facebook page has been used as an online gathering place for parents to voice their support of teachers. One way this has been done is through the organization of rallies at back-to-school nights.
“Parents have been posting on the page or sending private messages,” Weaver said. “They began saying, ‘why don’t we wear black shirts like our teachers do and rally.’”
The rallies were small gatherings where parents would stand just outside school property with signs supporting teachers and pleading with the board to settle the contact.
On top of the rallies, many users have sent emails to board members and have shared those emails on the Facebook page.
Weaver described himself simply as the moderator of the page and said many parents have taken the lead on this movement because of their growing frustration.
“It was already there,” he said. “They didn’t need a page to say the board of ed is disrespecting us.”
Cancellation of student activities concerns community
Some parents decided to speak with the board directly at last Tuesday’s board of education meeting. Their primary concern was the cancellation of some student activities due to the contract situation.
Julie Levy, the mother of two Cherry Hill High School East students, said both of her sons had fields trips cancelled this year due to the contract impasse.
“Within the past week, my children have come home with two checks for field trips that have been cancelled,” she said.
Some parents talked about the importance of social events, saying how they can be just as impactful for students as time in the classroom.
“Our children are losing out on social events, which are just as important as academics,” parent Helen Ferrante said.
Board of education President Carol Matlack said the board cannot stop whether activities in the school are cancelled, saying teachers who volunteer their time to a club or activity can choose to stop volunteering at any time.
“Activities that are run by voluntary teacher participation are by the choice of the teacher, even when the contract is settled,” Matlack said. “Some teachers have made a choice at this point not to volunteer. That is their right to choose, and the board cannot direct them to do otherwise.”
The lack of some activities is having an impact on the students. Both Cherry Hill East student representative Drew Meklinsky and Cherry Hill West student representative Justin Gick talked about the negative impact the contract talks have had on the students.
Meklinsky said the cancellation of events, such as the Halloween Dance at Cherry Hill East, is a major concern for students and is causing some to miss out on certain high school experiences.
“It is sad to see how this is affecting our students,” he said.
Gick described the ongoing contract situation as a distraction to the entire community and asked the board to move toward a settlement.
“Let’s get it resolved quickly so teachers can focus on what they love to do, teaching their students,” he said.
Two sides offer to move forward
Cherry Hill West senior Tim Intelisano understands where both the CHEA and board were coming from. A son of two teachers, Intelisano told a story describing the impact a teacher can have on students.
“When I was 9 years old, I lost my father, he had a heart attack,” he said. “At his funeral, 150 kids were bused from Burlington County Special Services where he taught. Teachers can make an impact on our lives.”
Intelisano went on to draw a parallel to the CHEA and board, saying despite their different thoughts during contract negotiations, both sides have a lot in common. He said both the board and teachers truly care about providing the best education for the children of Cherry Hill.
“I hope that this side can come to understand what’s on this side,” Intelisano said, gesturing between the board and the public. “We all love our community. I think we can bring that together and end this dispute quicker.”
Even with fact-finding in process, both the board and CHEA are keeping the door open for a return to the negotiating table. Sharofsky asked the board to forget what happened in past sessions and move forward.
“Let’s talk about the present, let’s talk about the future,” he said. “Forget about the past, it’s done.”
Matlack said the board is always willing to engage in negotiations with CHEA.
“The board is willing and able to move ahead with negotiations and will continue to do so until a fair and reasonable contract is reached with CHEA,” she said.
