Schools

Superintendent Cancels Back to School Night After Teachers Say No

Dispute over contract leads to cancelation, officials said.

Haddonfield School Superintendent Richard Perry canceled Back to School nights across the district on Sunday after receiving word Friday that teachers would not participate.

Perry said Haddonfield Education Association Co-President Sharon Stokes left a message on his answering machine Friday morning informing him of teachers' decision. 

Stokes said Sunday during a telephone interview that teachers are "not available at this time for events in the evening."

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When asked if the action was related to their contract situation, Stokes said: "Yes, absolutely."

The HEA represents about 300 teachers and other school personnel in the district. They have continued to worked under the terms of a contract that expired in June 2010. Stokes said teachers have not had a pay raise since then but have had increased health-care costs.

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Both Stokes and school officials have declined to name the sticking points in a new contract but both acknowledge health-care costs are an essential part of every public-sector worker contract.

"The board of education is operating under the fiscal constraints of our time and are doing the best to be fair to the teachers and the community," Perry said Monday.

The school board and the HEA have a fact-finding session scheduled next month. It's the next step in labor negotiations after a mediator. Teachers are prohibited from striking in New Jersey. The teachers' current action will not affect after-school extracurricular activities such as sports coaching, Stokes said.

Meanwhile, parents like Chris Lenny are upset about Back to School night being canceled.

"This is a huge deal; every parent/parents of a school age child in this town attend back to school night," Lenny said. "I have never missed one in the past 22 years until now."

"My gut reaction is that it makes the teachers look bad in the eyes of the parents/taxpayers who pay their salaries and sweet benefits, as well as in the eyes of our children who see their "role model"  educators acting badly," Lenny said in an email. "The public does not have the luxury of knowing the bargaining details, so I can not place blame, but my perception is that the hold up in negotiations is likely health benefit/pension contributions, and we already know the NJ teachers' unions stance on that sacred cow."

Stokes said she knows parents are frustrated, but thinks they don't blame teachers.

"The messages from the parents really wasn't biased from one side to the other," Stokes said, referencing an email she received over the weekend she said was addressed to her, Perry and the board of education. "Parents actually said it's time to reach an agreement, this has gone on too long."

Perry said Monday morning he was still holding out faint hope the teachers would reconsider.

"I'm extremely disappointed," Perry said. "One of the reasons the Haddonfield school district is so successful is because of the support of the community and the parents. I don't think it will necessarily resolve the issue, or does what they think it can do, gaining support for their cause. I think it does the exact opposite."

Stokes, a teacher at Haddonfield Memorial High School, agreed the district and the teachers have worked successfully in the past and her fellow workers are still dedicated to students.

"You're not going to find a group of people who care more about what we do, every day, than the almost 300 members of the Haddonfield Education Association," she said.


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