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Teachers, aides and parents urge swift contract settlement as board faces mediation
Summary
Dozens of teachers, paraeducators and parents pressed the North Brunswick Township Board of Education on July 31 to settle stalled contract negotiations before the August mediation, warning that low pay and turnover are harming students and forcing staff to leave. Board counsel said current law keeps staff working under the prior contract while mediation proceeds.
Dozens of teachers, paraeducators and parents packed the July 31 North Brunswick Township Board of Education meeting to press the board to reach a contract settlement before mediation on Aug. 13.
Michael Kesselinger, speaking as a representative of the MBTEA negotiations team, appealed directly to the board to ‘‘compromise with us’’ so that ‘‘come September, we could put the students first’’ and to give staff the ‘‘peace of mind’’ needed to focus on classrooms. He opened the public-comment period by asking the board to treat the mediation as an opportunity to find a fair agreement.
Multiple teachers described long unpaid hours and low pay compared with neighboring districts. Abby Morales, a fourth-grade teacher and parent, said she documented 505 hours of extra work in one year, the equivalent of about 72 school days, and called the lack of responsiveness from the board to written concerns ‘‘disheartening.’’ Dawn Bauer, whose remarks emphasized 21 years of local service, said experienced teachers can no longer afford to stay and that some educators could earn nearly $20,000 more in nearby towns.
Janice Mahal, a middle-school teacher, told the board she reviewed agendas and counted 283 colleagues who left the district from July 2021 through July 2024; subtracting retirements, she said, still left more than 220 resignations in three years. She argued that persistent departures of trained staff damage student programs and warned that the district risks becoming ‘‘a starter home’’ for educators.
Paraeducators and classroom aides also made repeated appeals. Susan Waldron, a special-education para, described extensive duties that include personal care, behavior supports and crisis interventions and said para pay and career ceilings lag behind comparable roles in other regional programs. Several paras said they can'not live on current wages and asked the board to reexamine compensation.
Parents and PTO leaders said students are already losing extracurricular experiences because of the impasse. A PTO official said back-to-school events and field trips are on hold, and one parent recounted being told by school staff that events could be disrupted until a contract is settled.
Board counsel Jonathan (addressed by name in the record) responded from the dais that the board is bound by the statutory impasse and mediation process. He explained that when a contract expires on June 30 the prior contract typically ‘‘rolls over’’ and employees continue working under those prior terms while negotiations continue, and he said the district welcomes mediation and is working toward a resolution.
The board did not take formal action on negotiations at the meeting. No new offers or tentative agreement were announced; several speakers urged quick movement to avoid further staff departures. The public comment period closed after the board reiterated that mediation was scheduled and that both sides would continue discussions.
What's next: mediation is scheduled for Aug. 13; the board did not schedule additional public sessions on negotiations at this meeting.
