Lawrence Schools Failed To Comply With Transparency Requirement: OSC

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — The Lawrence Township Public Schools has failed to comply with transparency requirements by not submitting current union contracts to the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), as required by law, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) said.

The findings were released by the OSC after it reviewed publicly available data from the website of the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) to evaluate compliance.

Based on data obtained in December 2023, OSC found that 64 percent of 586 school districts and 27 percent of 488 municipalities failed to provide copies of current union contracts to PERC as of the end of 2021.

By comparison, in 2010, 97 percent of municipalities and over 80 percent of school districts complied.

When contacted, the Lawrence School District admitted the oversight and said they were working to rectify the mistake. The most recent LTPS union contract updated on PERC's website is from 2022.

“The posting of union contracts on PERC’s website is an important tool for New Jersey residents, unions, and the government,” Acting State Comptroller Kevin D. Walsh said.

“By law, taxpayers are supposed to have immediate access to this information. PERC’s website provides a free way for local governments to meet their transparency obligations. It is disappointing and surprising that more of them are not complying with the law.”

OSC’s review spanned the period 2010 to 2023. OSC based its findings of non-compliance on data through the end of 2021 to highlight the school districts and municipalities that have been out of compliance for at least two years.

The Comptroller’s Office also made several recommendations, including that PERC should consider using its rulemaking authority to create an enforcement mechanism that would encourage compliance.

“Currently, PERC’s passive approach enables public employers to avoid compliance with a state law that promotes transparency and provides information that is useful for both unions and government entities involved in labor negotiations,” the report said.

“Given these findings, OSC recommends that PERC or, alternatively, the Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services (DLGS), and the Department of Education (DOE), create an enforcement mechanism to require local government entities to comply with their obligation to provide collective bargaining agreements to PERC.”

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