Twp. teachers rally at schools for contract
School employees to negotiate cost of health-care premiums
BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer
Teachers of the Ocean Township school district held rallies outside several schools last week after working for several months without a contract in place.

DANIEL HULSHIZER staff Ocean Township Intermediate School teacher Terri Yurksis pickets outside the Wanamassa Elementary School on Dec. 18.

A rally was held outside the Ocean Township High School prior to the start of the school day, and rallies were held outside the elementary schools at the end of the school day on Dec. 18.

A third rally was staged later that evening outside the Board of Education building prior to the start of a public meeting.

The rallies were a "show of discontent of working without a new contract," according to Irene Gilman, an English teacher at the Ocean Township High School and leader of the Teachers Action Team.

"[The teachers] are hoping to inform the parents, because we have a feeling that too many people in the township don't really know what's going on in terms of the teachers and the impact that the Board of Education's policies are having on all the schools in Ocean Township," Gilman said

DANIEL HULSHIZER Ocean Township Intermediate School teacher Linda Goldsmith holds up a picket sign outside the Wanamassa Elementary School on Dec. 19.

"We want to inform [the parents]," she said, adding, "That's what our goal is. It is not to disrupt traffic or disrupt the school day, but rather to inform the parents of Ocean Township of what is going on."

The Township of Ocean Educators Association (TOEA), composed of teachers and school district employees, has been working under the terms of a 2004 contract that expired in June.

Negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing between the TOEA and the Township of Ocean Board of Education (TOBE) since November 2006, according to a press release from the TOBE.

The issue of contention between the two groups is that the TOBE is proposing a contract that calls for all new employees hired after July 1, 2001, to pay 10 percent of their health-care premiums.

"We have people like my daughter, who makes a very low salary, being asked to pay 10 percent of their coverage," Gilman said. "We hope that the parents will be sympathetic and support us, and contact board members and ask them questions.

"It's not about the money; we are not out here asking for more money. We are out here asking for a fair contract. That's all," she added.

Bill Wishart, president of the TOEA and a science teacher at Ocean Township High School, explained that a clause in the teachers' 2001 contract required that all new employees of the district hired after July 1, 2001, pay 10 percent of their health-care premiums.

W

hen the TOEA approved

the 2001 contract, teachers were told that the statement calling for the 10 percent health-care premium was a misprint, according to Wishart.

During negotiations for the 2004 contract, the TOEA was told that the 10 percent contribution would be removed during negotiations for the 2007 contract, said Gary Bahr, negotiations chair for the TOEA.

Yet, Schools Superintendent Thomas Pagano said members of the TOBE never agreed to removing the 10 percent premium.

"It's a difficult time for everybody, and everybody is just going to do what they have to do to get through this time," Board of Education President Denise Parlamas said at the meeting.

JoAnn Stollo, a teacher at theWayside Elementary School, said at the Dec. 18 Board of Education meeting that Ocean Township is the only school district in the county that makes teachers pay into their health-care benefits.

"The Ocean Township Board of Education is making us the only [school district] in Monmouth County to pay [for our benefits]," Stollo said at the meeting.

"By doing that, the best and the brightest [educators] have the opportunity to look around and say, 'We can't afford to come to Ocean Township, it's not the best salary, and we can't afford to pay for benefits.' We want at the very least to have a level playing field, so that the best and the brightest will join our association as they have in the past," Stollo said.

Negotiations between the TOBE and the TOEAare being handled by a state-appointed fact-finder.

The fact-finder's task is to investigate the claims made by both the groups and to make a settlement recommendation.

The first fact-finding meeting was held in November and another meeting could be scheduled for February, according to Michael Beson, negotiations chair for the TOBE.

"[The rallies] are a part of the democratic process," Beson said. "They have every right to rally and make their voices heard.

"I commend them for being there and showing their support [for one another]. It is really a shame, because I respect the teachers, I have kids in the system, I have neighbors in the audience, and it's not an easy thing for us or [the teachers].

"Nobody likes this process, but we have no choice. We have to answer to property owners and taxpayers.

"It is a challenge, and I'm sure we'll be able to come to a resolution that both sides agree on," Beson said.