Complaint filed against Ocean superintendent Association charges that Pagano interfered with contract negotiations BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer OCEAN TOWNSHIP - A complaint has been filed against Ocean Township Superintendent of Schools Thomas Pagano, charging that he interfered with contract negations between the Board of Education and district employees. The Township of Ocean Education Association (TOEA) filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint against Pagano. In the ULP, the association alleges that Pagano discussed details of contract negotiations during a faculty meeting. "[The] superintendent of schools is interfering with the administration of this union," said Mark Abramson, New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) UniServ representative for the TOEA. "[The] superintendent does not have the right to discuss negotiation details at faculty meetings and I strongly suggest that you [Pagano] cease and desist from doing that," Abramson said to the Township of Ocean Board of Education (TOBE) at the March 18 meeting. "We have filed an unfair labor practice with the New Jersey Public Employees Relation Commission and we will move forward on that if we do not get any relief or notification from the board that this will stop," Abramson added. The ULP charge comes amid "contentious" contract negotiations between the TOBE and the TOEA. The association is seeking that the board approve a contract that will ensure that district employees do not have to pay a portion of their medical premiums. The TOEA represents employees within the school district and negotiations for a contract have been ongoing since November 2006. The employees have been working under the terms of a contract, which expired in 2007. Pagano said the complaints in the ULP refers to a specific incident, which occurred at aMarch 3 faculty meeting at the Ocean Township Intermediate School. He said he was not trying to interfere with negotiations said was passing on information that he thought could prove helpful to faculty members at the school. "I shared some information that I had received back in January about the state health benefits program," Pagano said, explaining that it was "general" information that he learned at a county superintendents meeting. "[The TOEA] felt it was negotiating outside the scope of negotiations," Pagano said. "That certainly wasn't my intent. "I won't be discussing that anymore," Pagano said, adding that he is optimistic that the ULP charge will be dropped. "I think if I make a commitment to not share information, they will withdraw the unfair labor practice charge," Pagano said. Contract negotiations between the TOBE and TOEA are stalled over the issue of whether district employees should pay a portion of their health-care coverage. T he TOBE is proposing a contract that calls for all new TOEA employees hired after July 1, 2001, to pay 10 percent of their health-care premiums, according to TOEA president and high school science teacher Bill Wishart. Ocean Township Instructional Assistant Pam Testa said at theMarch 18 meeting that the TOBE and the TOEA need to come to a settlement agreement. "Our district has educated not just our own children, but we have educated some of yours as well," Testa said to the board members. "A fair settlement is a fair exchange for a job well done." The TOEA and TOBE are currently participating in a series of fact-finding hearings in order to assist the two parties in reaching a contract agreement. When the TOEA approved the 2001 contract, teachers were told that the statement calling for the 10 percent health-care premium was a misprint, Wishart said. 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 chairman for the TOEA and a high school teacher. Pagano said members of the TOBE never agreed to remove the 10 percent premium during the 2001 negotiations.