JACKSON – The Jackson School District Board of Education and the Jackson Education Association (JEA) have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract.
The JEA represents about 1,000 teachers, building secretaries, guidance counselors, learning consultants, nurses, social workers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, athletic trainers, psychologists, media specialists and paraprofessionals.
The union’s previous contract expired on June 30. The new contract will run for three school years (2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20) and will expire on June 30, 2020.
Board President Scott Sargent said, “I think it is a fair and equitable contract for everybody all around. Everybody seemed to walk away feeling confident with the contract.”
He said the representatives on each side “did their homework” and came to an agreement that is good for both parties.
“When you look at the numbers, some people would choose to simplify it by taking the budget dollar amount and dividing it by 184 days the teachers are in school and it can become a staggering number, but when you look at the long-term effect of what we are trying to accomplish in such a large district with 11 different buildings and 10,000 students, I think we are in a good place for Jackson,” Sargent said.
Officials said the three-year deal has salary increases of 3.1 percent in 2017, 3 percent in 2018 and 3 percent in 2019. Not every union member will receive the same salary increase each year. The percentage increases are for the entire union and the annual increase each JEA member receives will be determined by his or her position on the salary guide.
The contract includes a new provision which states that all new employees will only be eligible for the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Omnia PPO plan for family coverage, according to district administrators.
Under the previous contract, JEA members were eligible for family coverage under the Horizon Direct Access program as well. Current employees retain this option, but moving forward the agreement requires new hires to be offered only the OMNIA plan for family coverage, which administrators said will save the district money on its insurance premium.
JEA President Carol Mould said she is proud of the way the union advocated for its members while being sensitive and responsible to the community.
“I am pleased our team was able to work with the board to craft a contract that is fair to both the members of the Jackson Education Association and the Jackson community,” Mould said.
Jackson Superintendent of Schools Stephen Genco said district administrators were eager to strike a balance that would be fair to staff members while being responsible to taxpayers.
“The staff in our district are dedicated, talented individuals who care about students and we want to be sure we are in a position to support them,” Genco said. “At the same time, we have an important responsibility to be efficient and smart in our finances. It is a fine line to walk, but I believe our teams both found a way to compromise in the best interests of everyone.”
