newjerseynewsroom.com

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The New Jersey School Boards Association Wednesday called for changes in "decades of laws" that, it contends, give the state teachers' union the upper hand in school district bargaining and often prevents management from making personnel decisions that meet the needs of students.

"We urge the (Christie) administration and the Legislature to act on proposals that will strengthen a local school board's position in collective bargaining and will enable school management to make staffing decisions without unnecessary constraints," School Boards Association Director Marie S. Bilik said. "In these difficult financial times, such changes will benefit students and taxpayers."

The NJSBA represents 588 school districts. Its action comes as the New Jersey Education Association, the statewide teachers' union, and Gov. Chris Christie are locked in a war of words of whether teachers should accept pay freezes or decreases to help school boards cover the loss of $821 million in state school aid he cut from the proposed 2010-11 state budget.

The administration and the Legislature are considering a number of cost-saving measures that involve union negotiations, employee benefits reform and changes to school district operations.

Bilik said, "A complete toolkit must also address tenure reform, changes in seniority regulations and the outlawing of certain job actions."

To accomplish this goal, the NJSBA proposes changing state laws to restore the "last best offer," a conceptprevalent in public sector labor law that permits a public employer to implement its "last best offer" when all efforts at a contract resolution procedures are fully exhausted.

In 2003, the Legislature eliminated the concept from public school labor negotiations only. Up to that point, "last best offer" had given local school boards a stronger position in collective bargaining.

"First, it served as a counterbalance to union threats of job actions," Bilik said. "Second, it provided an incentive for unions to bargain in earnest. The state teachers union successfully campaigned for its elimination, based on the incorrect premise that ‘last best offer' had been the cause of teacher strikes.

Implementation of "last best offer" occurred approximately a dozen times between 1968 and 2003. In comparison, there were 205 teacher strikes during that same period.

Bilik said the absence of a "last best offer" has been a factor in a significant increase in the number of school district negotiations that become deadlocked and go to factfinding. She said that since its elimination, the difference between teacher contract settlements and the cost of living has further widened.

The NJBSA also wants a set strong criteria for state-appointed factfinders.

Close to 30 percent of the school districts — 54 of them — that entered negotiations for new contracts to begin in 2009-2010 are currently deadlocked. Bilik said the situation increases the influence of state-appointed factfinders over contract settlements.

NJBSA officials believe that, in recommending a settlement, factfinders should place more weight on the state of the economy and the community's ability to pay than on the settlements that exist in other school districts. They argue that has not always been the case, resulting in factfinders' recommendations not reflecting what a community can afford.

"Legislation setting economic criteria upon which factfinders must base their recommendations would be a positive step in controlling employment costs in public schools," Bilik said.

The NJBSA wants to see the enactment of an anti-strike law, one that provides effective, uniform penalties. Bilik said the

illegality of teacher strikes in New Jersey is based on common law and court decisions that prohibit public employees from withholding services. She said when teachers went on strike in the past, local school boards were able to secure back-to-work orders from state Superior Court. If the teachers ignored the back-to-work orders, they were assessed fines or other penalties by a judge. However, penalties varied widely and were often waived.

Bilik said New Jersey needs a prohibition against strikes. "A statute that declares teacher strikes illegal, establishes uniform automatic fines and penalties against local unions — including their decertification if they continue the job action — would balance the negotiations process," she said.

The NJBSA also wants to see non-strike job actions declared illegal. Bilik said teacher unions will implement job actions to pressure the school board and the community during bargaining. "Certain job actions, such as refusal to assign homework or write college recommendations, affect students negatively and are not within a teacher's right of free expression,'' Bilik said. "They can disrupt the education program and may be threatening to the community.''

NJBSA leaders believe that a law that declares such job actions illegal and establishes fines would balance the strength of unions and school boards in negotiations.

The association is also asking the Legislature to eliminate a statute that it believes allows teachers to conduct job actions by refusing to work when school is in session on any of the 13 state holidays, such as Election Day or President's Day. Enacted more than 40 years ago, the statute prohibits school districts from disciplining teachers who refuse to work on a state holiday, even if schools are open. Bilik said local teacher unions have used it to conduct one-day work stoppages, resulting in costs to the school district and disruption to education.

The NJBSA also wants the Legislature to change seniority and bumping rights.

"In the current climate, with so many school districts forced to reduce personnel, it's important that they be able to retain the best staff, but current provisions can prevent that from happening," Bilik said. For example, she said, under the existing process, a staff member needs only one day of experience in a certain discipline to exercise bumping rights to a position in that area. As a result, a staff member could "bump" an employee with far more experience in that particular field.

"We have to be fair to all employees and, above all else, we have to give priority to the education of children," Bilik said. "That means changing statute and regulation so that school boards can retain the best qualified staff."

Finally, the NJBSA wants to see the elimination of lifetime tenure for teachers. State

law grants lifetime tenure to teachers after three years in a position. At that point, their removal is permitted only upon certain conditions, with the burden of proof placed on the school board, and only if it undertakes what Bilik describes as complex, lengthy and expensive tenure proceedings.

"Until such a change is possible, NJSBA would support other reforms, such as extending the period before a teacher can gain lifetime tenure from the current three years plus one day to five years, as well as streamlining tenure proceedings," Bilik said.