December 21, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Mahwah Township teachers rally for contract settlement by Frank J. McMahon An estimated 200 Mahwah Education Association members attended last week’s public board of education meeting to protest the lack of a contract settlement between the board and the MEA, which represents the school district’s teachers, secretaries, custodians and maintenance staff, bus drivers, and aides. The MEA and school board have been involved in negotiations since February 2010, five months before the last contract expired on June 30, 2010. A fact-finding meeting was scheduled for Dec. 15, but Charles Saldarini, the school board’s first vice president and chairman of the board’s Negotiating Committee, advised the board that, “The factfinding meeting has been pushed back in favor of face to face negotiations between the two parties.” At press time on Dec. 16, there was still no settlement, but both sides were optimistic that an agreement would be reached when they meet again in January. Several members of the MEA addressed the board with social studies teacher Regina Guth expressing disappointment that the board has not acknowledged the role the district’s teachers play in helping students achieve. “I’d like the board to recognize the effort of the teachers who go above and beyond their contractual hours,” Guth said. Others read complimentary e-mails from parents and students to demonstrate that the teachers go above and beyond their contractual hours for the students and they asked the board to show them the respect they deserve. “The legacy of excellence is the cornerstone of the district,” they told the board, “but every day without a contract takes its toll on morale.” They urged the board to “create an environment for highly qualified people to work here.” MEA member Bill Howe described a survey he had taken, with 80 percent of the members responding. The survey, he said, showed that teachers work an aggregate of 2,400 hours per week in additional time for students, which amounts to 97,000 hours per year. At a $13 per hour rate, that would amount to $1.2 million per year that they are willing to give to teaching the students in order to get the excellent test scores they have received. “I hope you recognize that,” Howe said. “We are willing to give our time and effort, which is money, to have successful students, and we would like that acknowledged.” MEA President Laura Beattie closed the public portion of the meeting, saying, “The members of the Mahwah Education Association would like our community to know that, despite prior unsuccessful efforts to attain a new employment contract, we are dedicated to providing the very best education for our students. “We teach values of hard work and personal responsibility. These are the characteristics that set professional educators apart from those in other professions. The sustaining of these attributes, however, requires competitive salaries and benefits.” Claiming that the last thing the commu- nity or the school board wants is for the staff to be distracted by an unsettled contract, she cautioned the board, “We are looking at a long road ahead if…the board of education does not appreciate and acknowledge your highly qualified staff by offering a realistic and fair settlement. Tonight, I strongly encourage you to do so.” Patricia Shada, president of the board of education, voiced optimism about the potential for a settlement, saying, “I am extremely optimistic that tomorrow night we will get a contract.” Toward the end of the meeting, she told the members of the public, “We are going to work wonders tomorrow night. This board’s door is always open to talk, and that is what I do best. Thank you, and Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and, hopefully, there will be a contract under the tree.” During the protracted negotiations, the MEA complained that the school board’s negotiating team and the administration had not been forthcoming with documents and information they requested about salaries and other financial issues, and the MEA filed an unfair labor practice charge against the board of education with the Public Employee Relations Commission, claiming the district had failed to provide them with the documents it needs to negotiate a new contract. Saldarini and Edward Deptula, the school district’s business administrator, (continued on page 26)