School District Hopes to Reach Agreement With Union Before Next Fiscal Year Begins

The School District of the Chathams and its teachers' union, the Association of Chatham Teachers and Secretaries (ACTS), are working to come to terms on a new three-year contract by the end of the week, according to Superintendent Jim O'Neill.

The previous contract between the two sides expired July 1.

On Friday, the first pay period for the 2010-11 school year will begin for full-time, 12 month employees. After that date passes, O'Neill said, it is very difficult for a new agreement to be put into place, because doing so could potentially involve rescinding contracts.

The two sides met last week. They were "very close" to coming to a resolution, according to O'Neill, but weren't able to fully agree on terms.

O'Neill has said in the past that disagreements between the two sides have been salary-related. He said the district's Board of Education feels spending over 2.5 percent of the school budget on teacher salaries would threaten the school district's fiscal security.

"We're trying, once again, through our point negotiators, to see if we could reach some resolution this week," O'Neill said. "I think we have a small window of opportunity, maybe over the next couple of days."

The current contract, renewed in December, contained a 3.8 percent salary increase for teachers. O'Neill has said he is skeptical that such an increase would hold in the future contract.

Gov. Chris Christie signed into law Tuesday a bill that caps property tax increases at two percent, though there are some exemptions that would allow districts to raise taxes by more than that.

ACTS President Fran Brantley has not returned previous requests for comment.