The Villadom Times Weekly Newspaper Online

Franklin Lakes March 10, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 Fact-ﬁnder fails to move board or teachers by Frank J. McMahon An informal meeting of the Franklin Lakes Board of Education, the Franklin Lakes Education Association, and a fact-finder produced no results in the effort to bring the two sides together in their negotiations for a new contract for the teachers. FLEA represents the teachers, instructional aides, secretaries, and other non-managerial employees in the school district. The Feb. 23 hearing before the fact-finder was intended to permit the board and the association to submit their final offers with any evidence demonstrating the fairness of their respective positions. Michael Solokas, the school district’s business administrator, advised that both sides were restricted by the fact-finder from discussing the meeting publicly except to say that the fact-finder was unable to bring the parties to a negotiated settlement. Negotiations will now move to a formal fact-finding process. The next meeting with the fact-finder will be scheduled for a date to be announced in May. Donna Luciano, the president of the association, concurred that she was restricted from discussing the hearing with the fact-finder, but she did say she was sad the negotiations could not be concluded. The previous contract between the school board and the association expired on June 30, 2009 and negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing since January 2009. The school board and the association have been deadlocked in those negotiations. The two points of contention are the health plan coverage for the members of the association, and salary increases for FLEA members. The board of education decided to implement a change in the health benefits plan for the FLEA from the Horizon Direct Access Plan to the state’s School Employee Health Benefits Program effective Dec. 1, 2009. However, late last year, the Public Employment Relations Commission ruled that the board of education could not unilaterally decide to implement a change in the health benefits plan for FLEA without setting up a fund to reimburse FLEA members for their out-of-pocket costs associated with going to out-ofnetwork providers. FLEA had asked PERC to grant an injunction prohibiting the board from switching health benefits plans, but the ruling will allow the school board to make the switch in health plans as long as the reimbursement fund is established. At the time of the PERC ruling, Solokas advised that all employees were switched to coverage by the state plan on Dec. 1, but the requirement of setting up a reimbursement fund will reduce the savings the school district had hoped to achieve with the switch in plans. He said the potential savings from the change with the reimbursement requirement is difficult to predict, but other towns that have set up special funds for this purpose are still realizing significant savings in their health plan costs. The school board’s health insurance consultant had projected increases in health benefits premiums under the current plan to exceed 35 percent, or more than $1,000,000, in each of the next two years. The board claims the change in health plans will provide the district with the additional cost savings needed to preserve the current educational program while providing the employees with substantially equivalent health benefits. �� A Saint Patrick’s Day luncheon for Franklin Lakes seniors is planned for Wednesday, March 17 at noon in the Franklin Lakes Fire House on Franklin Avenue. Seniors are invited to the Irish sing-a-long and the lunch of corned beef Saint Patrick’s Day lunch planned sandwiches, coffee, and dessert. 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