Negotiations Update

Dear Robbinsville Parents, Teachers, Students, Residents, and Neighboring Supporters,

We wanted to give you an update on the July 18th Negotiations Meeting between the Robbinsville BOE and our Teacher's Union (the REA).  Unfortunately, an amicable agreement was unable to be reached so the negotiations on our teachers' contracts will continue.  After the July 18th meeting, both the BOE and the REA released statements updating our community on the meeting's outcome.  

Here is the Robbinsville BOE's July 18th Meeting Statement:

"At mediation this evening, the Robbinsville Public Schools Board Negotiations Committee unilaterally increased its offer, which is in line with the Mercer County average. The Robbinsville Education Association (REA) countered at 4.9%, which is more than 1.5% higher than the County average. 

While the Board is willing to continue to negotiate, the REA has not made realistic demands that would be possible without deep, painful cuts to staff and programming that would be to the detriment of our Robbinsville students. The Board is not willing to do that and will proceed to the process of fact finding where we believe a state fact finder will recommend a more reasonable settlement in line with the Mercer County average."

Here is the REA's July 18th Meeting Statement:

"The Robbinsville Education Association has a singular goal for bargaining – to attract and retain high quality staff for the community and students of Robbinsville.  Central to that goal is having a competitive salary structure.  Every proposal and every decision made during the bargaining process begins and ends with that in mind.

Unfortunately, the Board of Ed is at it again and providing inaccurate information around bargaining.  To be clear the BoE never proposed an actual number for a salary increase.  Rather, they repeated their desire to settle within a range of 3 to 4%.  When we, the REA, reduced our salary proposal to 4.9% in an attempt to move the process forward, the BoE refused to counter with an actual number and told the mediator they will take their chances in the next stage of the bargaining process known as Fact Finding.  The last actual salary proposal from the BoE remains at 2.4%, well below the current county average of 3.48%.  The current salary proposal from the REA is above the county average for the simple fact a county average settlement will cause staff salaries to fall further behind surrounding districts.  While it is disappointing to deal with a group that has such obvious disregard for the facts, the REA will continue pursuing the goal of attracting and retaining the best staff possible for Robbinsville.  The Robbinsville community deserves no less.

The REA will be hosting a community meeting to explain how salary guides work and how Robbinsville’s salaries compare to surrounding districts.  The same districts that are actively recruiting our employees.  Stay tuned to this page for details about this meeting."

What are the Next Steps?

1. We will continue to keep our petition participants up to date on any progress made regarding the teachers' contract. 
2. The next BOE meeting is Tuesday, July 26th at 6 pm in the Pond Middle School Cafeteria. We are encouraging our community to attend this meeting in person or follow along on the live Facebook Stream on the Robbinsville Community for Schools Facebook page to hear about any updated information regarding ongoing negotiations between our BOE and Teachers Union. In addition, BOE candidates will be interviewed and selected by the current BOE members for the 1 open seat available from now through December 31st. 
3. The REA will be hosting another Community Meeting in August to provide an overview of teachers' salary guides. As soon as the meeting information is sent, we will update our community with a specific date and time. 
4. The next BOE election will be held this November with 3 seats available under a 3-year term. Candidates have until today, July 25th at 4 pm to submit their application. Good luck to all of the candidates!  Thank you for stepping up to volunteer your time to serve our community.  BOE members play a critical role in ensuring that our schools are well run, determining school polices, approving budgets, and of course, negotiating our teachers' contracts. It's our town residents that elect our BOE members so please take the time to get to know the candidates that are running in this upcoming election!

Be sure to like the Support Our Robbinsville Teachers and Staff Facebook Page for the latest information: https://m.facebook.com/Support-Our-Robbinsville-Teachers-and-Staff-101054722644811/.