Monmouth County had 18 school districts that returned to the bargaining table this year and five - Brielle, Manalapan-Englishtown, Matawan-Aberdeen Regional, Ocean Township and Wall - are still negotiating, according to Mike Yaple, spokesman for the association. Eleven districts in Ocean County began negotiating new pacts this year, and five - Lakewood, Ocean Gate, Pinelands Regional, Stafford and Tuckerton - are still negotiating.
"Still negotiating" could mean anything from face-to-face bargaining between the local school board and teacher's union to some form of mediation, Yaple said in an e-mail.
"Until a new pact is reached, teachers are covered by the provisions in their old contracts," Ciak said. "All of their salaries, benefits and other employment protections remain in effect which is why we note that public school teachers in New Jersey never truly "work without a contract.' "
In 2001, classes were canceled in Middletown following an impasse between the Board of Education and Middletown Township Education Association. Teachers there went on strike for about a week starting at the end of November, almost five months after their contract expired.
In none of the Shore area districts has there been any mention of a strike.
Ocean County talks
In at least three of the Ocean County districts - Stafford, Pinelands Regional and Tuckerton - the existing contract expired in June, according to contracts posted on the Web site of the state Public Employment Relations Commission.
Two other Ocean County districts were also believed to be starting this school year without a ratified teachers' contract, but no information was available about the status of talks in Lakewood or Ocean Gate. The schools superintendents and Board of Education members were unavailable for comment.
In Tuckerton, lack of a teacher contract "is certainly not going to have an effect on the continuity of education," said Eric Wilhelm, 41, Board of Education vice president.
The prekindergarten through sixth-grade district enrolls 290 students in a single building, Tuckerton Elementary School.
The sticking points, Wilhelm said, are the same concerns affecting people across the state: salary increases and benefits.
"Our district is small and sometimes getting all the things one wants is not as easy as it is potentially in a larger district," Wilhelm said.
Nevertheless, Wilhelm is optimistic that differences could soon be settled.
Dave Hewitt, a fifth-grade teacher at Tuckerton Elementary, wasn't worried either.
"There was one year where we started (the school year) beyond the point of our contract," the 29-year-old said. "Hopefully, things will work out."
Wilhelm held a similar thought.
"We're going to have pretty diligent negotiations come September. The board wants something as quickly as possible," Wilhelm said.
Manalapan-Englishtown Education Association members plan to meet with district officials today to continue negotiations with a mediator appointed by the New Jersey Education Association. Both sides are hoping the meeting will end in a resolution.
Negotiations began in February and later came to a halt, said Helen Rubenstein, a member of the association's negotiations committee. She said the old contract expired June 30.
"We had hoped to end the school year with a contract but we didn't and the board refused to entertain any proposals," Rubenstein said. "It (the district's position) was basically a take it or leave it.
"When we countered with something we thought was quite reasonable, they said, "Well, I guess we're at an impasse,' and that's the way it's been," Rubenstein said.
She added the association hasn't staged a strike in more than 20 years, "and hopefully we won't have one now."
District Business Administrator Joseph Passiment said salary increases have been the major stumbling block, but that the two sides "aren't that far apart."
Both Passiment and Rubenstein said they could not comment on the specifics of the negotiations.
"I'm optimistically confident that we will bring this to a resolution shortly," Passiment said.
"These things take time"
In Brielle, where the board and the local teachers' union still had not settled a new contract, School Business Administrator Ed McManus insisted that the ongoing negotiations would not delay the start of the upcoming school year.
The previous three-year contract between the board and the teachers was up June 30, McManus said.
"As you know, these things take time," he said.
Brielle board President Ted Vitale said Tuesday he could not specify what is holding up agreement. He did say, however, that the parties involved completed their first mediation session last week and have a second scheduled for the beginning of October.
Neither Kim Dolan, president of the Brielle Education Association, nor Beth Creighton, negotiations chairwoman, could be reached for comment.
In Wall, Doug Wild, board president, said the board and teachers union have yet to reach an agreement, but the delay is the result of scheduling conflicts over the summer.
"The board's ready and willing to negotiate and has been, and the summer played into the availability of all parties," he said.
Wild said talks are still amicable.
The previous three-year contract expired June 30, he said.
Representatives for the teachers' union could not be reached.
In the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional schools, negotiations started in the winter on a contract to succeed the one that expired June 30. Represented are about 450 people, which includes teachers, drivers and custodians.
School officials said they do not expect the ongoing negotiations to affect school's opening.
Carl Kosmyna, the Matawan Regional Teachers Association union representative, was not available for comment.
(app.com)