Teachers Get 1.99 Percent Raises in New Contract

The Ocean City Board of Education approved a labor agreement Wednesday that gives teachers annual 1.99 percent salary increases.

The three-year contract is effective from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2014 — with increases retroactive to the start of the contract period.

Members of the Ocean City Education Association (OCEA) had been working without a new contract since June 30, 2011. Negotiations on the new contract had been ongoing for two years.

The OCEA ratified the agreement on Oct. 2, and the school board voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve it.

The agreement also:

• Eliminates two steps of longevity pay effective July 1, 2013. Under the old contract, teachers with 23 to 25 years of experience received an annual longevity payment of $5,500, and teachers with 26 or more years of experience received $8,000. Those steps will be eliminated in July 2013, and all longevity pay (all five steps) will be eliminated for anybody hired after July 1, 2013.
• Caps tuitiion reimbursement at $30,000 and requires employees to stay with the district for three years after taking advantage of the benefit.
• Eliminates payouts of unused sick time to the estates of deceased employees.

State law now dictates that all school employees pay a portion of their health benefits. Employees started by contributing 1.5 percent of their salaries toward their health plans. A progressive schedule that varies by salary and experience caps out when employees are paying 35 percent of their annual health care premium.

Joe Clark, the Board of Education representative in negotiations, told the board that the agreement addressed 20 different areas — with much of the work designed to give the district and staff more flexibility and to clarify language.

The district can now make minor adjustments in student arrival and departure times without worrying about contractual conflicts, for instance.

He said the 1.99 percent increases will help the district remain under the 2 percent state-mandated cap for tax levy increases, and he said the figure is inclusive of all contractual terms.

The median salary for faculty districtwide is $90,434, while the statewide median is $63,851, according to the state Department of Education's New Jersey School Report Cards for 2010-11. The median number of years of teaching experience for the district is 18, compared to a state median of 10. More than 70 percent of Ocean City teachers hold master's degrees.

The contract terms for new hires could help the district realize savings as a very experienced staff begins to retire, Clark said.

Clark and other school board members thanked the teachers for maintaining their dedication to the school and students through negotiations.

"We maintained professionalism throughout the process," said Curt Nath, president of the OCEA.

While a new round of negotiations are expected to begin as early as 2013, Nath said he's looking forward to taking a step back and devoting full attention to students.

The only outstanding contract for the school district is with support services employees. A mediation session is scheduled for Oct. 28, according to Clark.