Teachers, School District Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

Princeton teachers have reached a tentative contract agreement with the school board.

“On January 19, 2012, after over a year of long and difficult negotiations and an additional four hours tonight, a tentative agreement was reached between the PRS Board and PREA,” Princeton Regional Education Association President Joanne Ryan said in an email sent late Thursday night.

The agreement is subject to ratification by both the union membership and the Board of Education.

Teachers have been working under the terms of an expired contract since June 30, 2011 and had expressed frustration by what they saw as stonewalling by the Board of Education.

Board members said they too were anxious to resolve the contract dispute, but noted increasing pressure to be diligent stewards of taxpayer dollars.

Both sides have held several sessions with a mediator, the last on Jan. 5.

That day, teachers held up signs to express their frustration over prolonged negotiations. 

Ryan said previously that issues in a new teachers' contract were disputes over salary and benefits.  

On Thursday, she said she could not reveal specifics of the tentative contract.

“No details can be released until after ratification is complete,” she wrote.

The school district recently signed contracts with both its support staff and administrators. Support staff agreed to a 2 percent increase this year and administrators signed a three-year contract with pay increases of 1.98 percent, 2.25 percent and 2.25 percent, beginning in 2011-12.