In what appeared to be a last ditch attempt to come to an agreement before negotiations move to the costly fact finding stage, representatives of the teachers’s union, Princeton Regional Education Association (PREA), sat down face to face last week, June 2, with the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education (BOE).

According to District negotiator Patrick Sullivan, both sides had agreed before the meeting to start talks at 9 a.m. and “to go on as long as it takes.”

True to that promise, the talks went on into the small hours of Wednesday morning.

“The meeting went 18 hours,” said John Baxter, PREA chief negotiator. “We did not reach a tentative agreement but scheduled a meeting for June 10, to continue talks.”

BOE President Andrea Spalla reported that the June 2 meeting “went pretty well,” with much progress being made. “I think getting a deal is definitely do-able,” she said, adding that today’s meeting was intended to “close the remaining differences between the two sides.”

The apparent shift forward comes after lengthy negotiations that have been ongoing for more than 14 months. Teachers have been working without a new contract since last July. Chapter 78 remains a stumbling block, even though, as BOE member Patrick Sullivan pointed out, 107 districts in the state have settled without any change to Chapter 78.

Last month, the District reached agreements with two other unions, the Princeton Regional Educational Support Staff Association (PRESSA) and the Princeton Administrators’ Association (PAA), replacing contracts that had previously been negotiated for 2012-15 and 2014-15, respectively.

The negotiations with PRESSA lasted eight weeks, those with PAA six weeks.

The new contract with administrators gives them annual increases for the next three years of approximately 2.39 percent, 2.38 percent, and 2.37 percent. That with PRESSA gives an annual increase of 2.5 percent for each of the next three years.

The most recent PREA offer from the District was for 2.44 percent, 2.2 percent, and 2.3 percent over the next three years.

According to 2013-14 figures, salaries for Princeton teachers range from $54,033 for a teacher on the first step with a bachelor’s degree to $108,050 for an upper level teacher with a doctorate. A teacher’s base salary goes up with level of education attained and number of years in the District. For example, a teacher with a doctorate will earn more than one with a master’s degree, who in turn will earn more than one with a bachelor’s degree. A teacher who has served 15 years or more, will earn a longevity payment. Many teachers supplement their basic salary through coaching or by teaching extra classes or doing home tutoring.

In comparison, figures for 2014-15 show that administrators earn (including longevity payments) between $107,000 and $185,415, with the average being $141,661. In West Windsor, for the same period, the average is $129,805.

No Coaching

In view of the ongoing contract dispute, coaches in the Princeton Public Schools signed a letter last month about summer volunteer activities. Coaches announced that they will not do any volunteer summer coaching or training until August because of the impasse.

Their contracts specify August 10 as the starting date for coaching. Earlier this year, in reaction to the contract stalemate, teachers stopped doing other work they are not compensated for. Twenty-four coaches will be affected.

Based on data for the 2014 calendar, they stand to lose stipends of between approximately $6,000 and $20,000. At Princeton High School (PHS), for example, an assistant football coach would earn $8,304; an assistant girls soccer coach, $5,260; and an assistant girls tennis coach, $5,039, within a range from preschool to high school between $20,060 and $90,700.

The average coaching stipend at Princeton High School, as detailed in the last PREA contract, is $7,229.69.

Save our Schools Meeting

Just in case today’s talks fail to produce a contract, Save Princeton Public Schools, a public advocacy offshoot of Community for Princeton Public Schools, is planning to hold a public forum Monday June 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 50 Cherry Hill Road “in the hopes of providing clarity and encouraging transparency about the lengthy negotiations between the Board and the PREA.

Described as a “teach-in,” the event will include members of PREA. For more information, contact saveppsnj@gmail.com. To submit a question, visit: bit.ly/1KjEyOn.

The next meeting of the Board of Education will take place Tuesday, June 16. For more on this issue, see the Mailbox on page 8.