COLTS NECK – The Colts Neck K-8 School District Board of Education has stated its opposition to several bills that are pending in the state Legislature.
During a meeting on June 5, President Dr. Kimberly Raymond and board members Danielle Alpaugh, Marian Castner, Rebecca Roberts, Jacquelyn Hoagland, Kevin O’Connor and Marci Klein voted to pass two resolutions. Vice President Kathryn Gizzo and board member Michael Taylor were absent.
One resolution opposes bills A-3664 and S-3089, which would creates tenure-like protections for non-teaching staff. The second resolution opposes bills A-3395/S-296, which would, according to the board, undermine its ability to subcontract services.
In regard to the bills which would create tenure-like protections for non-teaching staff, the board said the proposed legislation “would give non-teaching employees, such as teacher assistants, bus drivers and cafeteria aides, tenure-like protection by forcing school districts to enter into binding arbitration over non-renewal of employment, as well as virtually any
‘disciplinary’ action, ranging from reprimands to withholding increments.”
The board went on to say the bills “would undermine the authority of local boards of
education, the public’s elected and appointed representatives, by preventing them from
negotiating disciplinary procedures to effectively and efficiently manage employee
conduct and performance” and that “mandated binding arbitration would require the expenditure of valuable time and resources, while placing critical decisions in the hands of arbitrators, who are not accountable to the taxpayers of the community.”
The board is calling on Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature to reject all measures that would require binding arbitration over disciplinary matters and non-renewal of employment.
Regarding the proposed legislation which the board said would undermine its ability to subcontract services, the resolution states that “many New Jersey school boards have found that subcontracting of services such as transportation, cafeteria and maintenance is an option that has saved millions of tax dollars every year.”
The resolution goes on to state that Assembly Bill 3395 and Senate Bill 296 of the 2018-19 legislative session “is a union-backed bill that would place severe obstacles in the way of a school board’s ability to subcontract services and save tax dollars.”
The board’s resolution states that “the sole purpose of A-3395/S-296 is to undermine a board’s ability to subcontract services, thereby increasing school employees and increasing the rolls of union membership, which generates more dues for union coffers” and that the legislation “would remove a school board’s option to subcontract services, thereby diverting funds from the classroom and burdening property taxpayers.”
Board members stated their opposition to the proposed legislation and called on the Legislature “to reject any such measures that will have the effect of depleting limited
resources from our classroom.”
