Lakewood Board of Education reaches 3-year agreement with the Lakewood Education Association

The Lakewood Board of Education announced today that it has reached a 3-year agreement with the Lakewood Education Association (LEA), which includes teachers, paraprofessionals, and secretaries.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was adopted by the Board of Education on September 17, 2018 and ratified by the LEA on October 4, 2018.

The Board of Education released the following statement to TLS:

Lakewood Education Association (LEA) members will receive well deserved salary increases as outlined in the MOA, which members of the Board and Administration fully supported:

2018-2019 – 3.2% (Retroactive to July 1, 2018)

2019-2020 – 3.5%2020-2021 – 3.75%

These salary increases are intended to recognize the hard workof our staff, provide stability to our public-school students, and assist Administration to retain teachers that are committed to the Lakewood School District and its students by decreasing the number of teachers that leave the district seeking higher salaries.

The salary increase was long overdue.

Based, in part, upon an analysis of median teacher salaries from data reported in the Taxpayer Guide to Education Spending, published by the NJ Department of Education the Lakewoodschool district in 2016 was ranked 592 out of 650 schooldistricts, including charter schools, as to median rate of pay despite the many unique challenges facing Lakewood schools.

Compared with surrounding communities in Ocean County, Lakewood’s median salaries were as follows:

RankDistrictMedian Salary

223Brick$66,370

285Jackson$64,332

382Toms River$61,006

592Lakewood$52,046

As the attached CHART indicated this was one of the many factors that caused dedicated staff to seek out greener pastures .

School Year	Number of Teachers Who Resigned
2012-2013 (No RIF)	48
2013-2014 (No RIF)	40
2014-2015 (RIF of 22 Staff Members)	55
2015-2016 (RIF of 68 Staff Members)	51
2016-2017 (RIF of 140 Staff Members)	78
2017-2018	58

**However, with a funding formula that does not work for the Lakewood School District, stability remains an issue.

In addition to salary increases, other changes to the LEA contract include, but are not limited to:

• Beginning July 1, 2019 payroll checks are due on the 15thand 30th of each month, as opposed to the current bi-weekly payroll checks.

• Effective July 1, 2019, all Category 1 Teachers and their dependents shall have the SEHBP Direct 15 as their base plan until they obtain tenure. Upon obtaining tenure, the Category 1 Teachers and their dependents shall be eligible to select the SEHBP Direct 10 as their base plan.

• Teaching staff members will continue to receive professional development training 3 Mondays a month.

• Administrators may now utilize ID swipes for attendance purposes (swipe 2); whereas, in the past, administrators’hands were tied contractually in holding staff accountable to being on time and in their classrooms prepared to work without having the documentation necessary as back-up.

• Teaching staff at the high school and middle school will be assigned a duty 3 days a week and a PLC, 2 days a week; whereas, in the past few contracts, teaching staff in the high school and middle school had a prep period, lunch period and a PLC 5 days a week; leaving administration covering all duties.

All outstanding unfair labor practices and PERC filings, as set forth by the Universal Agreement have been withdrawn as follows:

• Health Benefits Waiver

• Coaches Frozen Salary

• Vision Plan Charge

• Job Coach/Transition Coordinator

• FMLA/Sick Time

• Bargaining

The Board of Education will next begin negotiations with the Lakewood Administrators Association (LAA), which consists of Principals, Assistant Principals and Curriculum Supervisors, thatare on par with the salaries of other local school district administrators, unlike the teachers and support staff represented by the LEA.

In addition, the Board of Education will begin negotiations in November with the Teamsters Union that represents bus drivers and aides.