Cliffside Park board expected to ratify teachers' contract; members thank negotiators and staff

The Cliffside Park Board of Education put ratification of the teachers’ contract on the agenda at its May 16, 2025 meeting, and multiple speakers praised negotiators and teachers for reaching what they described as a fair agreement.

Board members and administrators said the negotiations produced a contract that both sides approached in good faith. “I think that both sides came to it looking to be fair,” a staff member involved in the negotiations said during the meeting. Board members thanked teachers for their work and for participating in the bargaining process.

The item drew public expressions of appreciation for teachers across grade levels. One board member said on the record that the district would “ratify their contract” that evening, but the meeting transcript provided does not include a formal roll-call or tally on that specific item.

Administrators also used the meeting to acknowledge the district’s staffing progress for 2025–26 and to thank principals, supervisors and the business office for their work recruiting and placing teachers. The transcript records a motion to accept the meeting agenda, which passed with board members present voting in the affirmative; the record does not show a separate, recorded vote on the teachers’ contract in the provided excerpt.

The board’s appreciation remarks accompanied other end-of-year business, including personnel resolutions and staffing updates. The minutes and the official meeting record should show whether the contract ratification received a formal vote and, if so, the final tally.