Teacher Contract Negotiations At An Impasse In Holmdel School District

HOLMDEL, NJ — The Holmdel Township Board of Education has declared an impasse in teacher contract negotiations with the Holmdel Township Education Association after months of discussions.

In a letter sent to the school community on Oct. 1, the Board of Education said negotiations have stalled after the board and teachers' association met with a mediator on Sept. 25 but failed to reach a contract agreement.

The board says the association is seeking higher annual raises than the 3% raise the board is offering and that the association wants employees who retire to be paid $150 per day for unused sick time, a 138% increase from the $63 per day in the current contract.

In their proposal, the board said they offered to preserve five weekly preparation periods and one departmental planning period for staff, while allowing for institutional duties on other days.

According to the board, about three hours of teachers’ current workday is non-student contact time, which consists of one duty-free lunch period, one preparation period and one departmental planning period.

The association, in a statement to Patch, countered that the board’s proposed 3% salary increase is less than average raises in other county districts and said the proposed increase falsely leads the community to believe that each staff member will receive a 3% raise.

According to the association, the 3% increase is on the total amount of salaries for members of the teachers association and is spread out among the staff, with some teachers receiving a raise of less than 1% based on where they are on the salary guide.

The association also said that the board’s memo leads the public to believe that their members spend less than 3 ¾ hours of the day with students, which they labeled as “deceptive.”

“Their complaint is that we have no additional institutional duties; therefore, we should give back more time,” the association said. “Well, just like other professions, our members are entitled to a lunch break (45 minutes). The other two periods, a planning period and a departmental period, are used to enhance the learning experience of students.”

According to the association, planning and departmental periods are used for researching and planning lessons, grading work, corresponding with parents, meeting with supervisors, attending department meetings, participating in training, attending meetings for students with special education needs or programs such as IEPs and working with school counselors.

The association went on to say that the board’s proposed 3% salary increase would only occur if they agreed to hire outside contractors for some positions, and that if they did not agree, the board would offer a 0.73% and 0.82% raise in years two and three of the contract.

In an email to Patch, Board Vice President Alison LoPresti said the board offered an alternative salary structure that would avoid the need for subcontracting during negotiations, and that the board's preference is to avoid subcontracting altogether.

According to LoPresti, specific salary increase percentages are contingent on how both parties address provisions in the expired contract, which LoPresti said the board views as "financially unsustainable."

"The potential savings from addressing those issues (or the board’s exploring of subcontracting if the HTEA was unwilling to address those issues) have always dictated what salary increases the board could afford and offer to the HTEA," LoPresti said.

Outsourcing has been a hot topic in the Holmdel school community for months. In the spring, dozens of people protested at a board meeting against an idea to outsource office, building, and paraprofessional services.

While no official action was taken on outsourcing at that April meeting, the school board said it was an option they may explore to help address ongoing budget issues, such as a $2.4 million deficit for the 2026-27 school year.

On Sept. 25, the district put out a request for proposals seeking bids for custodial and management services, according to records obtained by Patch through an Open Public Records Act request. Bids were due by 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

“The difficult reality is that the district already faces layoffs and larger class sizes due to ongoing financial challenges,” the board said. “Keeping every provision unchanged would only make those impacts worse, further straining our schools and placing an unsustainable burden on the community.”

“Our proposals preserve preparation time for staff, increase student contact, and still allow for fair salary increases,” the board continued. “They are not about cutting corners, they are about protecting what matters most: excellent teaching, strong programs, and the quality education our students deserve.”

In their statement, the association said that while they understand that the board has a responsibility to taxpayers, they questioned why the board didn’t budget to the state’s 2% cap on tax levy increases until two years ago, and said that lack of planning has put their members and Holmdel students "in financial jeopardy."

“The members of HTEA are dedicated professionals. Many are Holmdel Township tax-paying residents who send their children and grandchildren to Holmdel schools. Many of HTEA’s 400 members hold master’s degrees and special certifications, and the average employee has worked in the Holmdel School District for 17 years," the association said. "Our members have a stake in the community and want to see its schools continue to thrive and succeed.”

“Their [the board's] lack of planning for the future has not only hurt them, but it puts our members and the students of Holmdel in financial jeopardy,” the association continued. “The board has threatened us with the privatization of jobs and to use their resources to demean us in public. They say that they value us, but their actions do not show that to be true.”

Because the board has declared an impasse, negotiations now move to a formal fact-finding process where a mutually agreed-upon third party reviews the information about the contract proposals and negotiations and makes non-binding recommendations on each side’s proposals.

While the board blamed the teachers' association for the impasse, the association said that a mediation session over the summer was canceled and moved to September because the board was not ready to provide a monetary request for contract proposals, and that before contract discussions began, the association pre-negotiated with the board about schedule alignments for middle and high school that resulted in $500,000 in savings.

In a statement to Patch, LoPresti denied that the board was not ready to provide a monetary request or that the meeting was moved because of the board, and said that contract discussions stalled after the association didn't offer a counterproposal to the board at the Sept. 25 meeting.

Going forward, the board said it remains hopeful that the association will return to the negotiating table and that its priorities remain to be “respect for staff, fairness to taxpayers, and the best possible education for Holmdel’s children.”

“HTEA looks forward to continuing the negotiations process, and we eagerly await the recommendations from the fact finder,” the association said. “But we will never apologize for standing up for a strong and dignified contract for our members.”

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