December 17, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Midland Park Both parties finally ink three-year PBA contract The Midland Park Council has signed the new contract with Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 79. The agreement, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2015 and extend through Dec. 31, 2017, also settled a previous contract that dates back to 2012. “I feel the new contract is fair to both parties,” com- mented Councilman Nick Papapietro, the council’s police committee chairman. “Going forward it provides stabil- ity to the police department, which ultimately benefits the community,” he added. “The local was pleased to sign a new three-year contract with the borough as well as to put to rest the arbitration settlement of 2013 and 2014,” said PBA President Steve Vander Pyle. “The borough was very receptive to our con- cerns during negotiations. As a result, the new contract is far more appealing than the previous one, focusing on new hires and retaining our current officers,” he explained. Under the new agreement, police officers covered by the contract will receive salary increases of two percent for 2015 and one-and-a-half percent for 2016 and 2017. An interim step was added for new hires, who will receive a $33,000 salary while at the police academy, and will receive $42,069 once on the road working on their own. This date will then become the recruit’s anniversary date for salary guide purposes. The salary guide that will become effective Jan. 1, 2015 includes beginning salaries of $33,000 for those attending the academy, $42,069 for academy graduates, District assessing full-day kindergarten The Midland Park School District is investigating the feasibility of implementing a full-day kindergarten pro- gram and is seeking parental input with regard to this endeavor. School families with children under the age of five are being asked to respond to an on-line survey which will be open through Friday, Jan. 9. The survey may be accessed from the Godwin School homepage or by using the fol- lowing link: http://mpsnj.org//cms/module/selectsurvey/ TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=266 “This community survey outreach is only one compo- nent of the data collection process, and we are confident a valid result will be attained when all has been completed,” commented Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marie Cira- sella. She said the committee studying the feasibility of extending the kindergarten program has determined that the earliest possible start date for a full-day program in the district would be September 2016. “More information as to this determination will be pro- vided in a committee progress report to board and public, likely to occur in early 2015,” Dr. Cirasella said. Currently, 65 students are enrolled in the half-day program. The survey asks for the number of children in the family that would attend full-day kindergarten and in what year they would be entering the program. Board policy states that a child must be five years of age by Oct. 1 to enter kindergarten. New Jersey does not currently mandate that children attend kindergarten, except in certain school dis- tricts with high concentrations of lower-income families. Of the 79 school districts in Bergen County, 55 pro- vide full-day kindergarten. Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes offer only three full days and two half days. State wide, about 80 percent of public kindergarten children attend full-day. Warriors fall to Westwood in title game The Waldwick/Midland Park Warriors’ charmed season came to an end Dec. 6 as the top-seeded football team fell to Westwood 21-7 in the state championship game. For the second consecutive year, the Warriors met Westwood in the North 1, Group 2 (high school) matchup. The game was held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Coached by Greg Grudzis, the Warriors had posted an undefeated 11-0 record before the championship match. On Nov. 21, the team showed its excellent defensive play in the win against the Pequannock Panthers. “Our team and coaches are to be commended for their effort Saturday and throughout the year,” commented Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Casarico during last week’s board of education meeting. $51,867 for those beginning their second year, $61,667 for those beginning their third year, $71,466 for those begin- ning their fourth year, $81,266 for those beginning their fifth year, $91,065 for those beginning their sixth year, $98,510 for those beginning their seventh year, $105,956 for those beginning their eighth year, and $113,402 for those beginning their ninth year. The beginning salaries for sergeant and lieutenant will be $118,912 and $124,425, respectively. The police chief’s salary is not part of this agreement. The 10 steps in the 2012 salary guide had been increased to 13 by an arbitrator’s decision, and were later adjusted to 12. Until 2006, the salary guide had included eight steps. The contract includes a $700 per year uniform allow- ance. The document also allows for any employee covered by the contract who, as of June 1, 2010, was receiving more than $3,000 per annum for hazardous duty pay, to con- tinue to receive that pay. The amount will not continue to increase. Others will receive no stipend. The 60-day terminal leave to which new hires are now entitled will be reduced to 40 days, payable in three equal installments at the discretion of the employee. Sick leave for employees hired after April 1, 2013 will be reduced from the current 96 days to a graduated number based on the years on the force: 15 working days for those employed less than two years, 25 days from two years to less than five, and 40 days for five years and over. Minimum court hours will be reduced from three to two; and recall hours will be increased from two to three. According to Borough Administrator Addie Hanna, who served on the negotiations team, the negotiations for the 2015-17 agreement also resolved issues in the 2013- 14 contract awarded by an arbitrator in March, 2013. The arbitrator, Susan Osborn, limited raises for officers going through the salary steps to a total of $47,966 over the two- year period, and opted to divide that amount unevenly among the union members so as to be as equitable as pos- sible given built-in disparities in the expired contract. The salaries of all other officers were frozen at 2012 rates until Sept. 1, 2014, at which time they were to receive a two percent raise. This contract was never signed by the par- ties, however.