No new teacher contracts

Teachers in the Hewlett-Woodmere and Lawrence school districts began the new school year as they ended the last one: without new collective bargaining agreements.

Lawrence teachers started their third school year without a new contract, with the previous six-year deal having expired on July 1, 2011. Saying she does not want to negotiate in the media, Lawrence Teachers Association President Lori Skonberg has been reticent to discuss specific issues and potential wage increases.

“Regarding the negotiation process, we obviously would rather not be entering our third school year without a contract,” Skonberg said. “With that said, we will continue to meet with the board in the hope that an agreement can be reached. Considering the way negotiations have gone thus far, it would be almost impossible for us to have any specific expectations within any sort of timetable.”

There are approximately 340 teachers in Lawrence, and the average salary, according to teachersalaryinfo.com, is $71,744.

Board of Education President David Sussman said that the district wants to complete a new contract as soon as possible, but that is very difficult given the financial challenges it faces — from paying more for employee pensions to having less revenue due to the restrictions of the state tax cap.

“It is easy to say you deserve more — everyone deserves more — but how do we structure a system that pays for it?” said Sussman, adding that he thinks teachers and other district employees “realize what we face, and they understand we are in a very, very tough situation.”

A day of red

As Hewlett-Woodmere students filed into their buildings on the first day of school last week, many of their teachers wore red as a symbol of union solidarity.

Faculty Association President Ric Stark, who has taught chemistry and physics at Hewlett High School for 24 years, would not comment on the contract negotiations or specific issues, but he said that the 275 teachers in the union hadn’t worked without a contract since 2004, when there was no agreement for the first three weeks of school. The most recent contract spanned five years, beginning in 2008.

The average teacher salary in Hewlett-Woodmere, according to teachersalaryinfo.com, is the same as Lawrence, $71,744. Stark said he is optimistic that an agreement can be reached without protracted negotiations. “It’s only been a week and some change, so it doesn’t feel different yet, but if it takes a while, it can change the atmosphere of the district,” he said. “But I don’t think we’re at that point yet. I hope we’ll be able to come to an agreement in a reasonably short amount of time.”

Like Sussman, Kathleen Anderson, Hewlett-Woodmere’s assistant superintendent for human resources and student services, noted the difficulties of negotiating contracts in tough economic times.

“We all recognize that these are very difficult budgetary times, causing negotiations to be particularly challenging,” Anderson said. “We have a great deal of respect for our teaching staff, and we’re working closely with the HWFA to negotiate a mutually beneficial bargaining agreement.”

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