The red t-shirts of the Haddonfield Education Association stood out among the crowd at the Board of Education meeting on Aug. 28. Teachers and a few parents came out to support each other over their concerns that teachers have been without a contract since it expired June 30 and a settlement has still not been reached.
“Right now, we are working without a contract, which is quite a burden on our members in terms of the financial burden involved and the extra anxiety worrying about it,” said Corinne Welsh, co-president of the HEA and a high school English teacher. “The main reason we are here tonight is to bring the community’s attention and the board’s attention to what our situation has been and to try to come to a fair resolution as quickly as we can.”
Andrew Berlin, vice president of the Board of Education, spoke before the citizens’ comments, first complimenting the teachers and saying how much the board values them before explaining the process of the negotiations and their mid-August meeting with a mediator that lasted until 1:30 a.m. However, a settlement was not made at that time.
“All I can say is that the board is very interested in being able to move forward quickly and are very, very willing and looking forward to continuing,” Berlin said.
Parents at the board meeting wished for a speedy conclusion as well, asking for the contract to be settled before school starts on Sept. 3, as they are concerned this will affect their children’s education negatively. Parents are fearful the teachers’ focus will be not on education, but on how they will make ends meet along with other issues.
“I am asking you, both sides, to settle this quickly because I don’t want to see this as a distraction throughout the year because I know it can become a distraction,” said Kelli Colflesh, a mother of three Haddonfield Middle School students who is a teacher herself. “I’m the middle man. I’m a parent. I live in the district. I know my taxes eventually are going to go up, but I know what I am getting by paying these taxes and living in town. You get what you pay for. And what I am getting for my kids is quality education, and I want these teachers to stay.”
Colflesh believed the small turnout of parents was because many are not aware of the contract negotiations.
“I don’t think people are really aware of it. I am a teacher myself and I was not aware,” said Colflesh, who learned about the expired contract earlier in the day.
After all parents had spoken, Jennifer Gallogly, a first-grade teacher for Central School, spoke on the behalf of the teachers.
“We are asking for a fair and equitable contract similar to our peers in districts like ours. That is the real truth. And even though we continue to outperform every district in this state, except for Chatham, you continue to punish us, when in fact we should be rewarded,” she said. “We would never treat your children that way. Shame on you school board, shame on you.”
With that, the teachers all stood up and walked out of the meeting. After they left, David Siedell, a member of the Board of Education, commended the board.
“I want to say thank you to the committee that continues to negotiate with the school. I think it is a challenging environment, and I think you are doing great work,” he said. “And the comments there aside, I don’t think that you have anything to be ashamed of. I think that you are all working very hard to find an equitable and honorable settlement for both sides.”
After the meeting, Berlin and Superintendent Richard P. Perry explained that the negotiations are making progress. They said they, too, are hopeful for a good conclusion and would like it as much as anyone else.
“This negotiating team, board of education, has been extremely committed and willing to settle into this contract. We have a lot of talented and caring people on this committee,” Perry said. “And just as the teachers have been showing their passion, the passion is also on the other side of the table with the board’s committee. They are just as passionate, and we care about the school district, and the teachers and the students. And we want to settle this as soon as possible, too.”
The next board of education meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 11. If a contract is not agreed upon by then, the HEA will once again be there and they are asking for more people to support a settlement.
“At the Sept. 11 board meeting, we are doing quite a bit more. Knowing that it is the summer and Labor Day weekend, a lot of people aren’t necessarily here. So the Sept. 11 meeting, we’d like to particularly have people there because pretty much our entire membership will be there,” Welsh said. “I think there will be a lot more information and happenings on that particular night. We’re trying to get some people to bring a little bit more to light.”
In other news:
• Haddonfield Memorial High School was ranked as the second best in the state in New Jersey Monthly magazine and ranked 238 out of more than 27,000 high schools in the nation.
• The opening day for teachers is Tuesday, Sept. 2, and for students is Wednesday, Sept. 3.
• The district has hired 28 new faculty members, who were visited by Mayor Jeff Kasko at their new teacher orientation.
