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Washington Township board ratifies teacher and support-staff MOAs while principals’ agreement remains unresolved
Summary
After extended public comment and debate, the Washington Township Board approved memoranda of agreement for the teachers (WTEA) and support staff (WTSA). Board members paused on the principals’ (WTPA) MOA, saying one item remained unresolved and advising further executive-session review.
The Washington Township Board of Education voted to approve memoranda of agreement for the district’s teachers and support staff after more than an hour of public comment and internal debate at its December work session.
Board members conducted roll-call votes after multiple motions and a protracted discussion about whether to table items pending the principals’ memorandum of agreement. The board announced both MOAs were approved by roll call; the transcript records the motions carried and the chair declared the motions carried after roll call (motion carries). Several board members abstained on at least one of the votes and others said they wanted additional legal guidance before acting on remaining administrator matters.
The votes came amid repeated public testimony from teachers, principals and staff urging ratification. Mike Dempsey, a high‑school math teacher, told the board: “If the board of ed can justify a $27,000 bonus for 1 superintendent, then a teacher receiving less than 1 tenth of that amount should seem like a huge bargain” and urged members to “do the right thing.” Several principals and supervisors described program improvements, test‑score gains and the extra hours staff put in, and asked the board to finalize outstanding agreements for non‑unit administrators.
Board discussion also included a separate procedural effort to amend minutes from the Aug. 20, 2024 meeting related to an action on superintendent merit goals. A motion to correct those minutes was introduced by a board member who said the minutes incorrectly recorded that the motion had ‘carried.’ The solicitor advised that amending minutes is within the board’s authority but that other legal questions could arise; an initial roll-call on the proposed amendment recorded a tie/dispersion on the floor and the chair noted the issue warranted additional review and possible executive-session follow-up.
On the principals’ memorandum of agreement (the WTPA MOA), the board solicitor told members the document “leaves one critical item that still needs to be resolved between the parties,” and the board decided to pause further public action on that item and to address it in executive session as needed. Board members and speakers repeatedly asked for more transparency from the negotiations committee so full board members have information before votes.
The superintendent and administrative team received repeated public commendation for school programs and student achievements, while staff representatives stressed morale, retention risk and fairness across bargaining units as reasons to finalize contracts.
What happens next: the board moved into executive session for legal and negotiator matters and said that any action taken there could be publicly disclosed at the resumption of public session or at a later public meeting. The solicitor indicated the principals’ MOA will be brought back for board consideration after the unresolved item is settled.
