Contract Between
Upper Freehold Reg B/E-Monmouth
- and -
Upper Freehold Reg EA
* * *
07/01/2002 thru 06/30/2005


CategorySchool District
UnitTeaching/Professional Staff

Contract Text Below
41
Teachers’








          2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005


NEGOTIATIONS
AGREEMENT

between

UPPER FREEHOLD REGIONAL
BOARD OF EDUCATION

and

UPPER FREEHOLD REGIONAL
EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

Allentown, New Jersey

TEACHERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREAMBLE 3
ARTICLE I RECOGNITION STATEMENT 4
ARTICLE II NEGOTIATION OF SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT 4
ARTICLE III GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 4
ARTICLE IV MEMBER RIGHTS 7
ARTICLE V ASSOCIATION RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES 8
ARTICLE VI MEMBER WORK YEAR 9
ARTICLE VII TEACHING HOURS AND TEACHING LOAD 10
ARTICLE VIII NON-TEACHING DUTIES 13
ARTICLE IX TEACHER EMPLOYMENT 13
ARTICLE X SALARIES 14
ARTICLE XI TEACHER ASSIGNMENT 15
ARTICLE XII VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS & REASSIGNMENTS 16
ARTICLE XIII TEACHER EVALUATION 16
ARTICLE XIV SICK LEAVE 17
ARTICLE XV TEMPORARY LEAVES OF ABSENCE 18
ARTICLE XVI REIMBURSEMENT FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION 19
ARTICLE XVII PROTECTION OF MEMBERS, STUDENTS & PROPERTY 20
ARTICLE XVIII INSURANCE PROTECTION 21
ARTICLE XIX DEDUCTIONS FROM SALARY 22
ARTICLE XX MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 23
ARTICLE XXI BOARD RIGHTS 24
ARTICLE XXII SUMMER SABBATICAL 24
ARTICLE XXIII PERFECT/OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE AWARDS 25
GRIEVANCE FORM 25
SALARY SCHEDULES (SCHEDULE A) 28
CO-CURRICULAR SCHEDULES (SCHEDULE B) 31
COACHING GUIDES ( SCHEDULE C) 34

MISCELLANEOUS STIPENDS (SCHEDULE D) 37

APPENDIXES 38

OVERLOAD COMPENSATION ………………………………………………………….42

SEPARATION AGREEMENT FOR 2002-03 and 2003-04 ……………………………43





PREAMBLE

This Agreement entered into this 26th day of April, 2002, by and between the UPPER FREEHOLD REGIONAL BOARD OF EDUCATION, hereinafter called the "Board" and the UPPER FREEHOLD REGIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, hereinafter called the "Association".
WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, the Board and the Association recognize and declare that providing a quality education for the students of the Upper Freehold Regional School District is their primary aim and that the character of such education depends predominantly upon the quality of teaching, the availability of materials, the planning, the application of democratic processes in administration, and the maintenance of high morale among the teaching faculty, and

WHEREAS, the members of the teaching profession are qualified to advise in the development of programs designed to improve education standards, and

WHEREAS, the Board has an obligation, pursuant to Chapter 303, Public Laws 1968 to negotiate with the Association as the representative of employees hereinafter designated with respect to the terms and conditions of employment, and

WHEREAS, the parties have reached certain understandings which they desire to confirm in this Agreement, be it

RESOLVED, in consideration of the following mutual covenants, it is hereby agreed as follows:


ARTICLE I
RECOGNITION STATEMENT

A. Unit
Pursuant to Chapter 303, Laws of the State of New Jersey, known as the Employer-Employee Act of 1968, the Board hereby recognizes the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association as the majority representative with all the exclusive rights granted by the laws of the State of New Jersey, for purposes of collective negotiations concerning the terms and conditions of employment for all certified personnel under contract with the Board (excluding Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Directors, Principals and Vice Principals).

B. Definition
Unless otherwise indicated, the term "members" when used hereinafter in the Agreement shall refer to all professional employees represented by the Association in the negotiating unit as above defined (all certified personnel under contract with the Board of Education excluding the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Directors, Principals and Vice Principals) and reference to male members shall include female members.

ARTICLE II
NEGOTIATION OF SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT

A. Deadline Date
The parties agree to enter into collective negotiation over a successor agreement in accordance with Chapter 303, Public Laws 1968 in good faith effort to reach agreement on all matters concerning the term and conditions of members' employment. Such negotiations shall begin not later than October 1 of the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which this Agreement expires. Any agreement so negotiated shall apply to all members, be reduced to writing, and be signed by the Board and the Association.

B. Modification
This Agreement shall not be modified in whole or in part by the parties except by an instrument in writing duly executed by both parties.
ARTICLE III
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A. Definitions
1. Grievance - A grievance is a claim by a member of the Association based upon the interpretation, application or violation of this Agreement affecting a member or a group of members. The formal grievance must be submitted no later than twenty-five (25) school days from the occurrence of the alleged contractual violation.
2. Aggrieved Person - An aggrieved person is the person or persons or the Association making the claim.



B. Purpose
The purpose of this procedure is to secure, at the lowest possible level, equitable solutions to the problems which may from time to time arise affecting members. Both parties agree that these proceedings will be kept as informal and confidential as may be appropriate at any level of the procedure.

C. Procedure
1. Time Limits
The number of days indicated at each level should be considered as a maximum and every effort should be made to expedite the process. The time limits specified may, however, be extended by mutual agreement.
2. Year End Grievances
In the event a grievance is filed at such time that it cannot be processed through all the steps in this grievance procedure by the end of the school year, and if left unresolved until the beginning of the following school year could result in irreparable harm to a party in interest, the time limits set forth herein shall be reduced so that the grievance procedure may be exhausted prior to the end of the school year or as soon thereafter as is practicable.
3. Level One - Principal
A member with a grievance shall simultaneously present it in writing and discuss it with his principal and immediate supervisor, either directly or through the Association's designated representative, with the objective of resolving the matter informally.
4. Level Two - Superintendent
If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition of his grievance at Level one, or if no decision has been rendered within five (5) school days after the presentation of the grievance, the member may file the grievance in writing with the Association within five (5) school days after the decision at Level One or ten (10) school days after the grievance was presented, whichever is sooner. Within five (5) school days after receiving the written grievance, the Association shall refer it to the Superintendent of Schools.
5. Level Three - Board of Education
If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance at Level Two, or if no decision has been rendered within seven (7) school days after the grievance was delivered to the Superintendent, the member may, within five (5) school days after a decision by the Superintendent, or twelve (12) school days after the grievance was delivered to the Superintendent, whichever is sooner, request in writing that the Association refer it to the President of the Board of Education.
6. Level Four - Arbitration
(a) If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance at Level Three, or if no decision has been rendered within ten (10) school days after the grievance was delivered to the President of the Board of Education, the member may, within five (5) school days after a decision by the Board of Education or fifteen (15) school days after the grievance was delivered to the President of the Board of Education, whichever is sooner, request in writing that the Association submit its grievance to arbitration. If the Association determines that the grievance is meritorious, it may submit the grievance to arbitration with fifteen (15) school days after receipt of a request by the aggrieved person.



(b) Within ten (10) school days after such written notice of submission to arbitration, the Board and the Association shall attempt to agree upon a mutually acceptable arbitrator and shall obtain a commitment from said arbitrator to serve. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator or to obtain such a commitment within the specified period, a request for a list of arbitrators may be made to the American Arbitration Association by either party. The parties shall then be bound by the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association in the selection of an arbitrator.
(c) The arbitrator so selected shall confer with the representatives of the Board and the Association and hold hearings promptly and shall issue his decision not later than twenty (20) days from the date of the close of the hearings or, if oral hearings have been waived, than from the date the final statements and proofs on the issues are submitted to him. The arbitrator's decision shall be in writing and shall set forth his findings of fact, reasoning and conclusions on the issues submitted. The arbitrator shall be without power or authority to make any decision which requires the commission of an act prohibited by law or which is violative of the terms of this Agreement or Title 18. The decision of the arbitrator shall be submitted to the Association President and shall be final and binding on the parties.
(d) In the event that arbitrability of a grievance is at issue between the parties, jurisdiction to resolve the issue shall rest solely with the arbitrator selected in accordance with the provisions of Section C.6(b) of this Article.
(e) The cost for the services of the arbitrator, including per diem expenses, if any and actual and necessary travel, subsistence expenses and the cost of the hearing room shall be borne equally by the Board and the Association. Any other expenses incurred shall be paid by the party incurring same.

D. Rights of Members to Representation
1. Member and Association
Any aggrieved person must be present and may be represented at all stages of the grievance procedure by themselves or at their option, by a representative selected or approved by the Association. The Association shall have the right to be present and to state its views at all stages of the grievance procedure. Representation at Levels One and Two will be from the local association. Representation at Levels Three and Four would allow outside representation to be accepted by the Association.
2. Reprisals
No reprisals of any kind shall be taken by the Board or by any member of the administration against any party in interest, any representative, any member of the association, or any other participant in the grievance procedure by reason of such participation.

E. Miscellaneous
1. Group Grievance
If, in the judgment of the Association, a grievance affects a group or class of members, the Association may submit such grievance in writing to the Superintendent directly and the processing of such grievance shall be commenced at Level Two.




2. Written Decisions
All decisions will be rendered in writing on a form to be developed and attached to this contract.
3. Separate Grievance File
All documents, communications and records dealing with the processing of a grievance shall be filed in a separate grievance file and shall not be kept in the personnel file of any of the participants.
4. Forms
Forms for filing grievances, serving notices, taking appeals, making reports and recommendations and other necessary documents shall be prepared jointly by the Superintendent and the Association and given appropriate distribution so as to facilitate operation of the grievance procedure.
5. Meetings and Hearings
All meetings and hearings under this procedure shall not be conducted in public and shall include only such parties in interest and their designated or selected representatives, heretofore referred to in this Article.

ARTICLE IV
MEMBER RIGHTS

A. Rights and Protection in Representation
Pursuant to Chapter 303, Public Laws 1968, the Board hereby agrees that every employee of the Board shall have the right freely to organize, join and support the Association and its affiliates for the purpose of engaging in collective negotiations. As a duly selected body exercising governmental power under the laws of the State of New Jersey, the Board undertakes and agrees that it shall not directly or indirectly discourage or deprive or coerce any member in the enjoyment of any rights conferred by Chapter 303, Public Laws 1968 or other laws of New Jersey or the Constitutions of New Jersey and the United States; that it shall not discriminate against any member with respect to hours, wages, or any terms or conditions of employment by reason of membership in the Association and its affiliates, participation in any activities of the Association and its affiliates, collective negotiations with the Board, or the institution of any grievance, complaint or proceeding under this Agreement or otherwise with respect to any terms or conditions of employment.

B. Statutory Savings Clause
Nothing contained herein shall be construed to deny or restrict to any member such rights as they may have under New Jersey School Laws or other applicable New Jersey laws and regulations. The rights granted to members hereunder shall be deemed to be in addition to those provided elsewhere.

C. Just Cause Provision
No member shall be disciplined, reprimanded or deprived of any professional advantage or given an adverse evaluation without just cause. Any such action by the Board, or any agent or representative thereof, shall be subject to the grievance procedure herein set forth with the exception of those specific areas wherein a particular method of appeal is provided in N.J.S.A. 18A:1-1, et seq., (18A:29-14, 18A:6-10).


D. Required Meetings or Hearings
Whenever any member is required to appear before the Superintendent or his designee, Board or any committee, member, local representative or agent thereof concerning any matter which could adversely affect the continuation of that member in his office, position or employment or the salary or any increments pertaining thereto, then they shall be given ten (10) days prior written notice of the reasons for such meeting or interview and shall be entitled to have a representative of the Association present to advise them and represent them during such meeting or interview. Any immediate suspension of a member pending charges shall be with or without pay, at the discretion of the Board, and must be heard by the Board within ten (10) days of the suspension.

E. Evaluation of Students
The member shall maintain the right and responsibility to determine grades and other evaluations of students within the grading policies of the Upper Freehold Regional School District based upon their professional judgment of available criteria pertinent to any given subject area or activity to which they are responsible. No grade or evaluation shall be changed without consultation with the member. In those instances wherein the member has resigned, relocated or is otherwise unavailable for the consultation aforementioned, the Association President or one of its officers shall be notified of any anticipated action to change a grade or grades.

F. Association Identification
No member shall be prevented from wearing pins or other identification of membership in the Association or its affiliates.
ARTICLE V
ASSOCIATION RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

A. Information
The Board agrees to furnish to the Association, in response to reasonable requests from time to time, all available public information.
Whenever any representative of the Association or any member is mutually scheduled by the parties to participate during working hours in negotiations, grievance proceedings, conferences or meetings, he shall suffer no loss in pay.
Representatives of the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association shall be permitted to transact official Upper Freehold Regional Education Association business on school property at all reasonable times, provided that this shall not interfere with or interrupt normal school operations.
The Association and its representatives shall have the privilege to use school buildings at all reasonable hours for meetings. The Association shall apply to the Superintendent or his designee in advance of the time and place of all such requested meetings.

B. Exclusive Rights
The rights and privileges of the local Association and its representatives as set forth in the Agreement shall be granted only to the local Association as the exclusive representative of the members , and to no other organizations.

ARTICLE VI
MEMBER WORK YEAR

A. In-School Work Year
1. Ten (10) Month Personnel
The in-school work year for members employed on a ten (10) month basis (other than new personnel who will be required to attend an additional three(3) day of orientation) shall not exceed one hundred eighty-six (186) days(189 days for new staff), including snow days.
For each month of service the member shall receive 10% of his/her annual ten month salary. For months when a member works less days than those listed on the school calendar the following formula shall be used:

Pay for those days Annual Salary The Actual Number
shall be computed 186 X of days worked

Pursuant to the foregoing, the in-school work year shall consist of 186 days. These days are delineated in the district's official school calendar as follows:

184 scheduled student days plus two (2) days (186 days)
prior to the start of the student school year. In addition, all newly hired teaching staff will be required to attend two(3) additional days of in-service orientation at the beginning of his/her first year of service, for a total of 189 days.
2. Twelve (12) Month Personnel
The in-school work year of members employed on a twelve (12) month basis shall not exceed two hundred six (206) days.
3. Definition of In-School Work Year
The in-school work year shall include days when pupils are in attendance, orientation days and any days on which member attendance is required.

4. Inclement Weather
Member attendance shall not be required whenever student attendance is not required due to inclement weather.
5. Curriculum Development Work
If it becomes necessary for curriculum development work, upon approval of the Board of Education, it shall be paid at the rate as listed in schedule D.

B 1. School Calendar
The School Calendars for 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2004-2005 shall be set up in Schedule D. Changes in the School Calendar, a unilateral function of the Board of Education, shall be made after consultation between the Association and the Board upon recommendation of the Superintendent.

B 2- Emergency Evacuation-
In the event of one or more bomb threats which result in a school building evacuation, up to one additional day may be added to the calendar to make up for any loss in instructional time for the affected school at the discretion of the Board of Education, if the loss of time reduces the day to fewer than four hours.

ARTICLE VII
TEACHING HOURS AND TEACHING LOAD

Reversion of IBS- The Board, in its sole discretion, may discontinue the Intensive Block Scheduling. In the event this occurs, there will be a reversion to the contract language extant in the collective bargaining agreement which expired June 30, 1996 as written in Appendix E; In particular the language as modified in Articles VII, VIII, and X.

A. Teaching Hours
1. Teacher Day
Members are expected to devote to their assignments, in meeting the needs of the young people, the time necessary to meet their responsibilities, but they shall not be required to clock in or clock out by hours and minutes but to check in and out on a sheet so designated by their building principals.
2. Length of Day - Full Time Employees
The total in-school workday of all teachers in the system shall consist of a minimum of seven hours and a maximum of seven and one-half hours in accordance with the requirements of the particular building needs. This time shall also include a duty free lunch period.
3. Less Than Full Time Employees
Less than full time employees may be required to meet the same requirements of a full time teacher as it pertains to Prep time(pro-rated), homeroom, duties and time in attendance, either before or following the commencement and conclusion of the school day. Any employee who is employed less than full time shall be entitled to a pro-rated share of those divisible benefits available to full time personnel (vis, sick days, professional days, personal days, lunch periods, preparation periods). The pro-rating shall be accomplished by applying a fraction to the total benefit available to full time personnel. The numerator of such fraction shall be the number of hours worked per week by the less than full time employee; the denominator shall be thirty-seven and one-half hours. All partial days will be rounded to the nearest half day.
It is understood and agreed that certain benefits cannot be pro-rated because they are non-divisible (vis, health insurance, dental insurance, prescription). To qualify for the aforementioned non-divisible benefits, during the term of this agreement, the less than full time personnel must work no less than 5/8 of the total hours per week. Teachers employed to work two(2) scheduled blocks pursuant to the IBS shall receive 5/8 of the salary of a teacher working a full time schedule and will continue to be eligible for and entitled to insurance coverage. Teachers employed to work one scheduled shall be paid at a rate of 3/8 of the salary determined by their step on guide and will not be entitled to health, dental or prescription coverage.
Less than full time teachers shall have, without division, all other rights and privileges guaranteed to and full time teachers including, but not limited to, compensation for co-curricular positions, class coverage, and tuition reimbursement.






4. Arrival and Dismissal Time
Except as might be required because of duty needs, no High School teacher shall be required to report for work earlier than fifteen minutes before the opening of the pupils' school day, and shall be permitted to leave twenty minutes after the close of the pupils' school day. No Elementary School teacher shall be required to report more than ten minutes before the opening of the pupils' day. They shall not be required to stay for more than twenty minutes after the pupils' dismissal time on Tuesday through Friday. On Monday, they will be required to stay for 45 minutes after student dismissal for purposes of planning. On half-days, teachers who leave for lunch must be back at their assigned stations no later than 1:15 p.m.

B. Teaching Load
1. Grades 9-12
Realizing the absolute necessity of providing proper conditions for professional personnel, but subject to the Board's right to maintain the efficiency of the school district operations entrusted to it, no secondary teacher, except in cases of emergency shall have a work schedule exceeding three (3) student instruction periods and one (1) preparation period of 85 minutes duration. Teachers assigned to teach blocks 1,2 and 3 will be assigned the first lunch period of the day. Secondary teachers may also be assigned limited supervisory duties before and after school, or a homeroom as well as student activity periods scheduled during the school day. In this case, each of the other periods except the lunch block will be shortened by 15 minutes. The schedule can only be changed by atypical conditions, such as a change in school hours. Teachers who teach during blocks of less than 85 minutes duration may be assigned additional student contact time so long as the total does not exceed 85 minutes. (for example, a teacher may be assigned to teach a 55 minute daily class and be assigned to cover a 30 minute daily duty.)

2. Elementary Schools K-8
The daily teaching load in the elementary schools, whenever possible will not exceed five and one-half (5 1/2) hours of pupil contact but in no instance will it exceed six (6) hours of pupil contact.
3. Number of Preparations (Grades 9-12)
High School teachers shall not be required to teach more than two (2) subject areas nor more than a total of three (3) teaching preparations. All possible efforts will be made in this direction. If an occasion arises where it is not possible, the Association will be consulted.
4. Continuous Teaching in Elementary Schools
Every effort will be made by the Administration to keep continuous teaching to a maximum of three (3) hours, three (3) periods.

C. Lunch Periods
1. Lunch
Teachers shall have a daily duty-free lunch period in all schools which shall be a minimum of twenty-five (25)minutes duration.
2. Leaving of Building
Teachers may leave the building without requesting permission during their scheduled duty-free periods, but must indicate their absence on a sign-in sheet.



D. Meetings
1. Faculty and Other
Teachers may be required to remain after the end of the regular workday without additional compensation for the purpose of attending faculty or other professional meetings twice a month. Such meetings shall begin no later than ten (10) minutes after student dismissal time and shall run for no more than sixty (60) minutes. Except in cases of an emergency involving the health and safety of students and teachers, this shall be the rule.

2. Prior to Holidays and Weekends
Meetings which take place after the regular in-school workday and which require attendance shall not be held on Fridays or on any day immediately preceding any holiday or other day upon which teacher attendance is not required at school.

3. Notice and Agenda
The notice of an agenda for any meeting shall be given to the teachers involved at least three (3) days prior to the meetings, except in an emergency. Teachers shall be given an opportunity to suggest items for the agenda.

E. Preparation Time
1. Time Allotment
Uninterrupted preparation time will be provided as follows:
Grades K-8: One (1) period of forty (40) minutes duration per day,
Grades 9-12: One (1) period per day (85 minutes)

2. Extra Pay and/or Release Time
It is desirable for each teacher to have an uninterrupted preparation period each day. The practice of using regular teachers as substitutes, thereby depriving them of their preparation period, is undesirable and shall be discouraged. In those cases where regular substitutes are not available, regular teachers who volunteer may be used as substitutes during their non-teaching time. In the absence of volunteers, a teacher may be assigned to serve as a substitute. Volunteers and assigned teachers shall be paid at the class coverage rate as listed in schedule D.

F. Extra-Curricular Activities
Teachers will be compensated for extra-curricular activities in accordance with the pay schedule adopted and attached as a part of this contract. This does not include evening activities, PTA meetings or other such type functions. All coaching and extra-curricular activities shall be performed on a voluntary basis. For those services rendered in connection with student activities for which a stipend or hourly rate is not otherwise provided in this agreement, staff will be paid the hourly co-curricular rate as listed in schedule D.







ARTICLE VIII
NON-TEACHING DUTIES

A. Scope of Professionalism
The Board of Education adhering to the philosophy that the teaching profession embraces varied contacts with children in order that a professional may get to know a youngster better, feels that the scope of professionalism extends beyond the walls of the classroom and embraces other responsibilities.
1. Volunteer Aids
Every effort will be made to initiate a program whereby volunteer aids will assist elementary teachers in supervising the cafeteria and playground during lunch periods.

B. Extra Duties
In the scheduling of extra duties, the Association chairperson of each building will be consulted by the principal in the building in order that an equitable arrangement may be achieved.
ARTICLE IX
TEACHER EMPLOYMENT

A. Certification
1. Standard Certificates
The Board agrees to hire only fully certificated teachers holding standard certificates issued by the New Jersey State Board of Examiners for every teaching assignment where possible.
2. Notification
Upon request the Superintendent shall furnish to the Association in writing the certificates and degrees held, major and minor fields of study and prior experience of each new teacher.

B. Reduction in Certified Personnel
The Board of Education realizing responsibility to staff, students and its commitment to developing conditions for a good educational program and in light of any adverse financial conditions or declining enrollment that might require reduction in certified personnel, will discuss such action with the Association prior to Board decision.


C. Non-Certificated Personnel
In no case shall any non-certificated employee be requested or required to perform any duty mandated by law to be performed by a duly certified professional employee, except in cases of emergency as determined by the building administrator.








D. Returning to the District
A member with previous teaching experience in the Upper Freehold Regional School District shall upon returning to the system receive full credit on the salary schedule for all outside teaching experience, military experience or alternative civilian service required by the Selective Service System, Peace Corp., VISTA or National Teacher Training Corps, work and time spend on a Fullbright Scholarship up to a maximum of four (4) years except as mandated by law. Such members who have not been engaged in other teaching or the other activities indicated above shall upon returning to the system, be restored to the salary schedule at that step which they left.

E. Previous Sick Leave Accumulation
Previously accumulated unused leave days shall be restored to all returning members.

F. Notification of Contract and Salary
Members shall be notified of their contract and salary status for the ensuing year no later than April 30.

G. Termination of Employment
Teachers who intend to terminate their employment shall give the Board a minimum of sixty (60) days written notice of their intention to terminate.
ARTICLE X
SALARIES

A 1. Salary schedules for all personnel are attached hereto and made a part hereof as Schedules A1 – 2002-2003, A2 - 2003-2004, and A3 - 2004-2005.
A1 - 2002-2003 Salary Guide
A2 - 2003-2004 Salary Guide
A3 - 2004-2005 Salary Guide
A 2 Members employed on a ten (10) month basis shall be paid twice a month.
A 3 Members may individually elect to have ten (10%) percent of their monthly salary deducted from their pay and deposited in MONOC. Members specifying this option may not change the plan during the school year.
A 4 When a payday falls on or during a school holiday, vacation or weekend, members shall receive their pay checks on the last previous working day.
A 5 Members shall receive their final checks on the last working day in June.

A 6 The Board of Education shall reserve the right to withhold increments against such members for whom a recommendation has been made by the Superintendent of Schools. All such recommendations will have been made in light of existing state and local policies concerning evaluation. Any member for whom such a recommendation has been made, will receive notification after such action has been taken by the Board of reasons for this recommendation. The member in turn shall have the right to petition the Board of Education. All such increment withholdings will be decided on the basis of professional performance.
A 7 A maximum of four (4) years military experience may be applied. Any member hired prior to February 1 will be given a full year's experience for salary purposes.
A 8 Teaching credit will be given for non-public school experience as long as the teacher was in possession of a state teaching certificate during the credited period.
A 9 All teachers will be on guide by the start of calendar year.
A 10 Teachers assigned to home instruction will be compensated at the rate as listed in Schedule D plus up to one (1) hour travel time from school or home to tutorial site and back.

B. Extra-Curricular Salaries
1. Coaches will be paid at the end of their respective seasons upon successful completion of their responsibilities as approved by the Athletic Director and Building Administrator. Those coaches who are paid by direct deposit shall be paid 1/2 of their stipend at the mid point of their season and the balance at the next available pay date after the successful completion of their responsibilities as approved by the Athletic Director and Building Administrator.
2. All other extra-curricular advisors and the Athletic Director will be paid twice each year, once on January 31st and once at the end of the school year. In each instance, payment shall be made only upon completion of all responsibilities as approved by the Building Administrator.
Coaching salaries are attached hereto and made a part hereof as Schedule "B".
Extra-curricular salaries are attached hereto and made a part hereof as Schedule "C".
C. Severance Clause-
Should the Board decide to privatize, pursuant to law, its non-instructional staff, there shall be certain remuneration paid as severance pay.
a. One week salary for each full year of service in the Board’s employ.
b. The Board, in it’s sole discretion, may increase the foregoing for any employee who has twenty(20) or more full years of employment with the Board.

D. Professional Development Increment
Teachers who have met the requirements set forth in Addendum F will receive a $500.00 annual increment. This language will remain in this contract until such time as the last member who was eligible for the increment has left the district. A list of qualified members will be made available to the Association annually in September by the Superintendent or his/her designee.

ARTICLE XI
TEACHER ASSIGNMENT

In case of emergency, the situation necessitating a change will be explained in writing to the individual(s) involved and to the Association.
The Superintendent shall assign all newly appointed personnel to their specific positions within that subject area and/or grade level for which the Board has appointed the teacher. The Superintendent shall give notice of assignment to new teachers as soon as possible.
In the event that changes in such schedule, class and/or subject assignments, building assignments or room assignments are proposed after August 1, any teacher affected shall be notified promptly in writing.
In order to assure that pupils are taught by teachers working within their areas of competence, teachers shall not be assigned outside the scope of their teaching certificate and/or their major or minor fields of study unless an emergency exists.
Members may be required to use their own automobiles in the performance of their duties and members who are assigned to more than one school shall be reimbursed for all such travel at the IRS approved rate as of July 1 of the ensuing contract year.

ARTICLE XII
VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS AND REASSIGNMENTS

When vacancies occur, they will be immediately posted in the main office of each building. No later than May 1 of each school year, the Superintendent shall deliver to the Association President a list of the known vacancies which shall occur during the following school year. Minutes of public meetings that reflect transfers and reassignments will be posted in each building and provided to the Association representative upon request.

ARTICLE XIII
TEACHER EVALUATION

A. Frequency of Non-Tenure Teacher Evaluation
A non-tenure teacher shall be observed by a certified administrator at least (3) three times in each school year, to be followed in each instance by a written report and by a conference between the teacher and the certified administrator for the purpose of identifying deficiencies, extending assistance for their correction, recognizing strengths and improving instruction. Evaluation of teacher performance shall be based on at least (3) three in-classroom observations of at least (30) thirty minutes, each occurring on separate days.

B. General Criteria
1. Open Evaluation
All monitoring or observation of the work performance of a teacher shall be conducted openly and with full knowledge of the teacher. The use of eavesdropping, public address, cameras, audio systems, and similar surveillance devices shall be strictly prohibited.
2. Copies of Evaluation
A teacher shall be given a copy of any class visit or evaluation report prepared by that teacher's evaluator at least one (1) day before any conference to discuss it. No such report shall be submitted to the central office, placed in the teacher's file or otherwise acted upon without prior conference with the teacher. No teacher shall be required to sign a blank or incomplete evaluation form.

3. Evaluation of Co-Curricular Activities
The evaluation of co-curricular activities will take place at the end of the year (season). Each advisor (coach) will be made aware of the criteria upon which will be used for evaluation and who will be doing the evaluation.

C. Evaluation Procedure
1. Communication
Prior to any evaluation report the immediate supervisor of a teacher shall have had appropriate communication, including but not limited to all steps in paragraph 2 below, regarding that teacher's performance.


2. Reports
Evaluation reports shall be presented to teachers by their immediate supervisor in accordance with the following procedures:
(a) Such reports shall be issued in the name of the immediate supervisor based on a compilation of reports and observations by any and all supervisory personnel who come into contact with the teacher in a supervisory capacity.
(b) Such reports shall be addressed to the teacher.
(c) Such reports shall be written in narrative form and shall include, when pertinent:
(1) Strengths of the teacher as evidenced during the period since the previous report.
(2) Weaknesses of the teacher as evidenced during the period since the previous report.
(3) Specific suggestions as to measures which the teacher might take to improve performance in each of the areas wherein weaknesses have been indicated.

D. Personnel Records
Teachers shall have the right, upon request, to review the contents of their personnel file. All such actions must be performed in the presence of the Superintendent of Schools.
All statements concerning a teacher, including classroom evaluations and end of the year administrative reports, that are placed in the personnel file must be signed by the teacher in question indicating an awareness thereof.
Where the teacher disagrees with statements placed in his personnel file, that teacher has the right to indicate any disagreement in writing and have such included in their personnel folder.

ARTICLE XIV
SICK LEAVE

A. Regular Sick Leave
1. As of September 1, 1977, all members employed shall be entitled to twelve (12) sick leave days each school year. Unused sick leave shall be accumulated from year to year as provided by law.
2. Members shall be given a written account of accumulated sick leave no later than September 30 of each school year.

B. Extended Sick Leave
When absence, under circumstances described in N.J.S.A. 18A:30-1, exceeds the annual and accumulated sick leave, the Board, in its sole discretion, may pay any member each day's salary less the pay of a substitute, if a substitute is employed pursuant to the provisions of 18A:30-6.
Upon the written request, a member or his/her representative will have the opportunity to meet with the Board to present the member's view as to why such payment should be made. Nothing herein shall preclude said request from being made prior to the annual and accumulated sick leave being exhausted.

C. Accumulated Sick Leave Retirement/Death Benefit Plan
Any member who retires/dies with at least fifteen (15) years of service in the Upper Freehold Regional School District and has accumulated at least 50% of his/her sick leave at the time of retirement/death, will be compensated for the accumulated sick leave in accordance with the following schedule which is based upon the years of experience in the Upper Freehold Regional School District.

YEARS OF SERVICE: COMPENSATION:
15 $2,000
20 $2,500
25 $3,000
30 $3,500
35 $4,000
Written notice of intent to retire must be submitted to the Superintendent's Office ninety (90) days prior to the issuance of the accumulated sick leave retirement/benefit.

D. Maternity Leave
1. Leave of Absence for Medical Reasons
a- The Board shall grant leaves of absence for medical reasons associated with pregnancy and birth including false pregnancy and termination of pregnancy to pregnant members on the same terms and conditions governing leaves of absence for other illnesses or temporary medical disabilities as set forth in N.J.S.A. 18A:30-1, et seq. and Title 9 of the Federal Education Act and amendments of 1972.
b- Requests for maternity leave must be submitted at least ninety (90) days prior to the onset of the leave.
c- A member returning from a leave of absence due to pregnancy, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or birth shall be entitled to all benefits to which members returning from other types of sick or disability leave would be entitled. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to require the Board to grant tenure to any non-tenured member who would not otherwise have been granted tenure or to offer a new contract for a new school year to any non-tenured member who would not have been otherwise offered such a contract.

ARTICLE XV
TEMPORARY LEAVES OF ABSENCE

A. Types of Leave
With the exception of the accumulating provision set forth in the last sentence of Article XIV:A-1 , teachers shall be entitled to the following temporary non-accumulative leaves of absence with full pay each school year:

1. Personal
Three (3) days leave of absence for personal, legal, business, household or family matters which require absence during school hours. Application to the member's principal or other immediate supervisor for personal leave shall be made at least three (3) days before taking such leave (Except in the case of emergencies), and the applicant for such leave shall not be required to state the reason for such leave other than that the leave is being taken under this Section. Personal leave immediately before or after vacation or holiday would require administrative approval.
On an annual basis, teachers shall be given two options regarding their unused personal days:
Option #1 - Unused personal days will be converted to sick days as of September 1st of the subsequent school year.
Option #2 - Teachers will be paid for unused personal days at a rate of $50 per day payable on August 15th of the following school year.

2. Professional
Up to three (3) days for the purpose of visiting other schools or attending meetings or conferences of an educational nature with administrative approval.
3. Legal
Time necessary for appearances in any legal proceeding connected with the member's employment or with the school system.
4. Bereavement Leave
The number of school days, not to exceed five (5), will be allowed without loss of pay in the event of each death in the immediate family. The term immediate family shall be understood to include only the following: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Father-in-law, Mother, Mother-in-law, Husband, Wife, Child, Brother, Sister. An allowance of one (1) day per year in case of the death of a relative not heretofore mentioned will be granted.
5. Temporary Military (Maximum of Two Weeks)
Time necessary for persons called into temporary active duty of any unit of the US Reserves or the State National Guard. A member shall be paid his regular pay in addition to any pay which he receives from the State or Federal government.
6. In Addition to Sick Leave
Leaves taken pursuant to Section A above shall be in addition to any sick leave to which the member is entitled by law.

7. Leave for Illness in Family
Once personal leave is exhausted, teachers would be eligible for a maximum of five (5) days leave for illness in the family at a per diem deduction equal to the per diem substitute rate.

ARTICLE XVI
REIMBURSEMENT FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION

A. Requirements and Procedures
The requirements and procedures for continuing education reimbursement of any member of the professional staff are as follows:
In order to be eligible a member must:
1. Possess a New Jersey teaching certificate with the subject or specialty area endorsed.
2. Possess a BA or BS degree.
3. Present evidence in the form of an official college transcript or in-service "Professional Improvement Course Certificate" from the college and/or supervisor, as the case may be, which gives evidence of successful completion of the course(s).
4. The course(s) must be completed between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2005.
5. Be employed by the Board of Education at the time that reimbursement is to be made.
6. Courses completed prior to employment are not eligible for reimbursement.

B. Schedule of Limits
The schedule and limits for continuing education reimbursement of any member of the professional staff are as follows:
1. Reimbursement will be the cost of tuition and fees up to the maximum of $625.00 per member for 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005.
2. A limit of $10,000 per year for fiscal years of for 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 has been established to finance this Article. Once this amount has been paid in any one year, no further requests for reimbursement will be honored.(schedule D)
3. Requests for reimbursement should be submitted to the Superintendent.
4. Payment will be made to the member within thirty (30) days of submission of evidence of satisfactory completion of a course to the Superintendent.

ARTICLE XVII
PROTECTION OF MEMBERS, STUDENTS AND PROPERTY

A. Unsafe and Hazardous Conditions
Members shall not be required to work under unsafe or hazardous conditions or to perform tasks which endanger their health, safety, or well-being.

B. Procedure for Hazardous Conditions
1. Meetings
In the event of any disorder or disruption in the regular school program, the Board, Superintendent or affected building principals shall meet with the Association immediately on request of the Association to develop mutually acceptable programs to guarantee the safety of students, members and property.

2. Unauthorized Visitors
During said unsafe and hazardous period, persons not employed by the Upper Freehold Regional District shall not be allowed into any school without the knowledge and permission of the building administrator or superintendent. This shall apply to students visiting a school other than where they are assigned.

C. Reasonable Force
As specified in 18A:6-1, a member may within the scope of his employment, use and apply such amount of force as is reasonable and necessary: To quell a disturbance threatening physical injury to others; to obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects upon the person or within the control of the pupil; for the purpose of self-defense and for the protection of persons or property.

D. Action before Board and Commissioner
Whenever any action is brought against a member before the Board or before the Commissioner of Education of the State of New Jersey which may affect that teacher's employment or salary status, the Board of Education shall reimburse the teacher for the cost of the teacher's defense if the action is dismissed or results in a final decision in favor of the member.



E. Assault
1. Legal Assistance
The Board shall give full support including legal assistance for any assault upon the member while acting in the discharge of his duties.
      2. Leave
When absence arises out of or from such assault or injury, the member shall be entitled to full salary and other benefits for the period of such absence but shall not forfeit any sick leave or personal leave.
      3. Reimbursement or Personal Property Damage
The Board shall reimburse members for the reasonable cost of any clothing or other personal property damaged or destroyed as a result of an assault suffered by a member while the member has been acting in the discharge of his duties within the scope of his employment.
4. Medical
The Board shall reimburse a member for the cost of medical, surgical or hospital services incurred as the result of any injury sustained in the course of his employment.

F. Reporting Assaults
Members shall immediately report cases of assault suffered by them in connection with their employment to their principal or other immediate superior.

ARTICLE XVIII
INSURANCE PROTECTION

1. The Board of Education shall provide health coverage for both employee and dependents where applicable with the said carrier. The carrier for the for 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years will be Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of New Jersey. The coverage provided will be equal to or better than the existing coverage provided by the State Health Benefits Program covering State employees. A copy of coverage will be provided for each employee.

2. Dental and Prescription Insurance will be Board paid as follows:
Dental coverage will be carried under the Delta Dental Insurance terms in effect during the 1998-99 contract year at a co-pay rate of 80/20.
Prescription co-pay will be: $ 0.00 for mail prescriptions, $ 5.00 for generic prescriptions and $10.00 for name brand prescriptions.
Coverage for each member of the unit shall commence only after individual members make application for said coverage and execute the necessary enrollment card. The administration of the aforementioned plan shall be controlled by the underwriter in accordance with its rules and regulations.
3. At the commencement of the 1994-95 contract year, any employee who elects to waive medical benefits will receive in lieu thereof the following cash payments:
      Single $1,000
      Parent/child $1,250
      Husband/ Wife $1,750
      Family $2,000
At the same point in time, any employee who elects to waive dental or prescription benefits will receive in lieu thereof the following cash payments:

Dental $ 100
Prescription $ 200
      The Board will make application for IRS approval to ensure that those employees who do not opt out of the Health Insurance Plan will not have the insurance costs taxed as income in accordance with Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code.
4. Teachers employed 5/8 or more of a regular full time teaching assignment will be eligible for coverage.
5. All new hires, commencing with the 1997-98 school year, will receive single health insurance coverage. Such individuals shall have the option to purchase, at their own expense, coverage in addition to their individual coverage. All full time, tenure eligible employees and those meeting the requirements in Paragraph 4 above, shall receive full health insurance (husband/wife, parent/child, family, whichever is applicable) upon attaining tenure.
ARTICLE XIX
DEDUCTIONS FROM SALARY

A- Payroll and Dues Deductions
The Board agrees to deduct from the salaries of its members dues for the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association, the Monmouth County Education Association, the New Jersey Education Association or the National Education Association, or any one or any combination of such Associations as said members individually and voluntarily authorize the Board to deduct. Such deductions shall be made in compliance with Chapter 233 N.J. Public Laws of 1969 (NJSA 52:14-15.9e) and under rules established by the State Department of Education. Said moneys together with current records of any corrections shall be transmitted to such persons as may from time to time be designated by the U.F.R.E.A by the 15th of each month following the monthly pay period in which deductions were made. The person designated shall disburse such moneys to the appropriate association or associations.
Each of the Associations named above shall certify to the Board, in writing, the current rate of its membership dues. Any Association which shall change the rate of its membership dues shall give the Board written notice prior to the effective date of such change.

B -REPRESENTATION FEE
1. If any employee does not become a member of the Association during any school year commencing July 1 and concluding June 30, which is covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, said employee shall be required to pay a representation fee to the Association for that school year. The purpose of this fee will be to offset the employee's per capita cost of services rendered by the Association as majority representative.
2. Within ten days after the beginning of each school year, the amount of said representation fee shall be calculated by the Association pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:17-3.4 and certified to the Board by the Association, which amount shall not exceed eighty-five percent (85%) of the regular membership dues, fees and assessments charged by the union to its own membership.
      3. Once during each school year covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, the Association will submit to the Board a list of those employees who have not become members of the Association for the then current school year. The Board will deduct the representation fee in equal installments, as nearly as possible, from the paycheck paid to each employee on the aforesaid list during the remainder of the membership year in question.
4. The employer shall remit the amount deducted to the Association monthly, on or before the 15th of the month following the month in which such deductions were made.
5. These deductions shall commence thirty (30) days after the beginning of employment in the unit or ten (10) days after re-entry into employment in the unit.
6. The Association shall establish and maintain at all times a demand and return system as provided by N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.5(c) and 5.6, and membership in the Association shall be available to all employees in the unit on an equal basis at all times. In the event the Association fails to maintain such a system or if membership is not so available, the employer shall immediately cease making said deductions.
7. The Association shall indemnify and hold the Board harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits and other forms of liability, including liability for reasonable counsel fees and costs and expenses, that shall arise out of, or by reason of any action taken or not taken by the Board for the purpose of complying with any of the provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE XX
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

A. Non-discrimination
The Board and the Association agree that there shall be no discrimination and that all practices, procedures, and policies of the school system shall clearly exemplify that there is no discrimination in the hiring, training, assignment, promotion, transfer or discipline of members or in the application or administration of this Agreement on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, domicile, marital status or age.
B. Children of Members
Children of teaching staff members not domiciled in the regional school district who are enrolled in the Upper Freehold Regional School District during the 2001-2002 school year shall be permitted to continue on roll without payment of tuition in 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. Beginning with the 1990-1991 school year children not heretofore enrolled shall only be enrolled without payment of tuition upon the recommendation of the Superintendent after considering the impact on the school district in terms of class size, cost, and staff workload. This restriction would not apply to teaching staff members employed and working prior to July 1, 1990.
C. Board Policy
This Agreement constitutes Board policy for the term of said Agreement and the Board shall carry out the commitments contained herein and give them full force and effect as Board policy.
D. Compliance between Individual Contract and Master Agreement
Any individual contract between the Board and an individual member, heretofore or hereafter executed, shall be subject to and consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. If an individual contract contains any language inconsistent with this Agreement, during its duration, this Agreement shall be controlling.

E. Printing Agreement
After agreement with the Association on format, copies of this Agreement shall be printed at one-half Board expense and one-half Association expense within sixty (60) days after the Agreement is signed. The Agreement shall be presented to all members now employed and subsequently employed within thirty (30) days.

F. Savings Clause
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, nothing contained herein shall be interpreted and/or applied so as to eliminate, reduce nor otherwise detract from any member benefit existing prior to its effective date.
ARTICLE XXI
BOARD RIGHTS

The Board of Education reserves to itself sole jurisdiction and authority over matters of policy and retains the right, subject only to the limitations imposed by the language of this agreement, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to:
1. Hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees in positions in the school district;
2. Suspend, demote, discharge, or take other disciplinary action against employees for just cause and in a manner that will allow employees due process;
3. Maintain the efficiency of the school district operations entrusted to it;
4. Take whatever actions may be necessary to carry out the mission of the school district in situations of emergency;
5. Relieve employees from duty because of lack of needed professional services due to enrollment decline, or for other legitimate reasons not related to teacher discipline, that would not increase class size substantially above state recommended optimums.


ARTICLE XXII
SUMMER SABBATICAL

Annually there shall be available to two staff members, following the conclusion of the academic year an opportunity for a summer sabbatical for academic pursuits beyond the Bachelor's degree level.

To be eligible for application, the staff members shall:
1. Have been employed in the district for seven (7) or more years.
2. Demonstrate that the course of study to be pursued is significantly allied with the staff members' employment duties, and
3. Submit an application for a summer sabbatical, no later than March 30, on forms to be made available by the Board.



The Board shall act on all applications for summer sabbatical no later than May 30. The staff members shall be notified of the Board's decision, in writing, no later than seven (7) days following the Board's action.
Should more than two applications be received, the Board shall determine, in its discretion, which applications shall qualify for the summer sabbatical.
The successful applicants shall be paid, based on the salary guide in existence when the sabbatical is completed, one-half of their monthly salary for a period of two (2) months.
All salaries to be paid for summer sabbaticals shall be at regular bi-monthly intervals commencing July 15.
On or before October 15 of the ensuing school year, the recipients of a summer sabbatical for the prior summer shall notify the Board in writing of the credits obtained or the work completed during the summer sabbatical.






ARTICLE XXIII
PERFECT/OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE AWARDS

Employees who qualify for the district's Perfect Attendance award for the previous year shall receive a bonus of $100.00 on October 31st.
Employees who qualify for district's Outstanding Attendance award for the previous year shall receive a bonus of $50.00 on October 31st.


















GRIEVANCE FORM

Grievance No. _____________________Upper Freehold Regional Distribution of Form: Superintendent, Principal, Association President

Name of Grievant _________________________________________

Assignment _______________________________________________

Date filed _______________________________________________


STEP I (Principal)

A. Date Cause of Grievance occurred _______________________

B. 1. Statement of Grievance _____________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

2. Relief Sought ______________________________________

____________________________________________________________

(Signature) _________________________________Date___________
If additional space is needed in reporting Sections B1 and 2, attach an additional sheet.

C. Disposition by Principal _______________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

(Signature) ________________________________Date ___________

D. Position of Grievant and/or Association ________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

(Signature) ________________________________Date____________




STEP II (Superintendent)

A. Date received by Superintendent ________________________

B. Disposition of Superintendent __________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

(Signature) ________________________________Date____________


C. Position of Grievant and/or Association ________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

(Signature) ________________________________Date____________

STEP III (Board of Education)

A. Date received by Secretary of the Board of Education

____________________________________________________________

B. Disposition of Board of Education ______________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

(Signature) ________________________________Date____________

STEP IV (Arbitrator)

A. Date submitted to Arbitration __________________________

B. Disposition and Award of Arbitrator ____________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

(Signature) ________________________________Date____________

addendum A1

First Split September 2002- January 2003

Bachelor Bachelor + 30 Master Master + 30 Doctorate

W
37,275
38,335
39,395
40,455
41,515
X
37,599
38,659
39,719
40,779
41,839
Y
38,404
39,464
40,524
41,584
42,644
Z
39,230
40,290
41,350
42,410
43,470
A
40,350
41,410
42,470
43,530
44,590
B
42,427
43,487
44,547
45,607
46,667
C
46,200
47,260
48,320
49,380
50,440
D
48,830
49,890
50,950
52,010
53,070
E
51,669
52,729
53,789
54,849
55,909
F
54,317
55,377
56,437
57,497
58,557
G
59,774
60,834
61,894
62,954
64,014
H
62,520
63,580
64,640
65,700
66,760
I
65,615
66,675
67,735
68,795
69,855
J
67,799
68,859
69,919
70,979
72,039
K
69,552
70,612
71,672
72,732
73,792
L
73,671
74,731
75,791
76,851
77,911
M
74,169
75,229
76,289
77,349
78,409

Second Split February – June 2003

W 38,393 39,453 40,513 41,573 42,633
X 38,727 39,787 40,847 41,907 42,967
Y 39,556 40,616 41,676 42,736 43,796
Z 40,407 41,467 42,527 43,587 44,647
A 41,617 42,677 43,737 44,797 45,857
B 43,769 44,829 45,889 46,949 48,009
C 47,586 48,646 49,706 50,766 51,826
D 50,349 51,409 52,469 53,529 54,589
E 53,375 54,435 55,495 56,555 57,615
F 56,267 57,327 58,387 59,447 60,507
G 61,819 62,879 63,939 64,999 66,059
H 64,607 65,667 66,727 67,787 68,847
I 67,666 68,726 69,786 70,846 71,906
J 69,833 70,893 71,953 73,013 74,073
K 71,552 72,612 73,672 74,732 75,792
L 75,506 76,566 77,626 78,686 79,746
M 76,004 77,064 78,124 79,184 80,244

for administrative purposes, increment will be defined as 3.6%

addendum A2

First Split September 2003 – January 2004

Bachelor Bachelor + 30 Master Master + 30 Doctorate

W 39,660 40,720 41,780 42,840 43,900
X 40,005 41,065 42,125 43,185 44,245
Y 40,861 41,921 42,981 44,041 45,101
Z 41,741 42,801 43,861 44,921 45,981
A 43,064 44,124 45,184 46,244 47,304
B 45,302 46,362 47,422 48,482 49,542
C 49,156 50,216 51,276 52,336 53,396
D 52,078 53,138 54,198 55,258 56,318
E 55,335 56,395 57,455 58,515 59,575
F 58,535 59,595 60,655 61,715 62,775
G 64,183 65,243 66,303 67,363 68,423
H 67,010 68,070 69,130 70,190 71,250
I 70,005 71,065 72,125 73,185 74,245
J 72,138 73,198 74,258 75,318 76,378
K 73,752 74,812 75,872 76,932 77,992
L 77,483 78,543 79,603 80,663 81,723
M 77,981 79,041 80,101 81,161 82,221

Second Split February – June 2004

W 40,572 41,632 42,692 43,752 44,812
X 40,925 41,985 43,045 44,105 45,165
Y 41,801 42,861 43,921 44,981 46,041
Z 42,701 43,761 44,821 45,881 46,941
A 44,108 45,168 46,228 47,288 48,348
B 46,409 47,469 48,529 49,589 50,649
C 50,287 51,347 52,407 53,467 54,527
D 53,327 54,387 55,447 56,507 57,567
E 56,753 57,813 58,873 59,933 60,993
F 60,183 61,243 62,303 63,363 64,423
G 65,896 66,956 68,016 69,076 70,136
H 68,750 69,810 70,870 71,930 72,990
I 71,693 72,753 73,813 74,873 75,933
J 73,797 74,857 75,917 76,977 78,037
K 75,275 76,335 77,395 78,455 79,515
L 78,906 79,966 81,026 82,086 83,146
M 79,404 80,464 81,524 82,584 83,644


Addendum A4
2004-2005

Bachelor Bachelor + 30 Master Master + 30 Doctorate

V
41,750
42,810 43,870 44,930 45,990
W 42,500 43,560 44,620 45,680 46,740
X 42,869 43,929 44,989 46,049 47,109
Y 43,787 44,847 45,907 46,967 48,027
Z 44,729 45,789 46,849 47,909 48,969
A 46,252 47,312 48,372 49,432 50,492
B 48,673 49,733 50,793 51,853 52,913
C 52,675 53,735 54,795 55,855 56,915
D 55,905 56,965 58,025 59,085 60,145
E 59,582 60,642 61,702 62,762 63,822
F 63,316 64,376 65,436 66,496 67,556
G 69,242 70,302 71,362 72,422 73,482
H 72,196 73,256 74,316 75,376 76,436
I 75,170 76,230 77,290 78,350 79,410
J 77,302 78,362 79,422 80,482 81,542
K 78,730 79,790 80,850 81,910 82,970
L 82,506 83,566 84,626 85,686 86,746
M 83,004 84,064 85,124 86,184 87,244


for administrative purposes, increment will be defined as 3.6%


























Addendum B
CO-CURRICULAR GUIDES
High School
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
Application Support Asst.
$4,204
$4,414
$4,635
Art Advisor
$2,425
$2,546
$2,673
Athletic Director, Asst.
$6,027
$6,328
$6,645
AV
$4,178
$4,387
$4,607
Band Front
$2,884
$3,028
$3,179
Band, Assistants
$2,450
$2,573
$2,701
Band, Concert
$4,351
$4,569
$4,797
Band, Marching
$4,392
$4,612
$4,842
Cheerleading Fall
$3,000
$3,150
$3,308
Cheerleading, Winter, JV
$1,095
$1,150
$1,208
Cheerleading, Winter
$3,282
$3,447
$3,619
Choir
$3,013
$3,164
$3,322
Choral
$4,285
$4,500
$4,725
Class Advisor, Gr. 9
$1,567
$1,646
$1,728
Class Advisor, Gr. 10
$1,567
$1,646
$1,728
Class Advisor, Gr. 11
$2,425
$2,546
$2,673
Class Advisor, Gr. 12
$2,425
$2,546
$2,673
Co-Op, Agricultlure
$1,253
$1,315
$1,381
Co-Op, Business
$1,253
$1,315
$1,381
Computer Co-ordinator
$4,032
$4,234
$4,445
Computer Windows Specialist
$651
$684
$718
Credit Completion
$1,996
$2,096
$2,201
Department Chair
$3,757
$3,945
$4,142
Base plus $100/member
$0
$0
$0
Detention Monitor
$4,714
$4,950
$5,197
Detention, Saturday
$73
$77
$81
per session
$0
$0
$0
Drama
$4,714
$4,950
$5,197
FBLA
$0
$0
$0
FFA
$3,576
$3,754
$3,942
FFA, Head
$5,778
$6,067
$6,371
Foods, shopping
$1,253
$1,315
$1,381
Foreign Exchange Adv.
$2,450
$2,573
$2,701
G & T Coordinator
$4,178
$4,387
$4,607
G & T Facilitator (1)
$2,450
$2,573
$2,701
G & T Facilitator(2)
$3,702
$3,887
$4,081
Honor Society
$1,935
$2,032
$2,133
ITIP
$0
$0
$0
Literary Magazine
$2,326
$2,443
$2,565
Manitou
$4,827
$5,068
$5,322
Network Support, Asst.
$651
$684
$718
Network Training Specialist
$1,762
$1,850
$1,943
Nutshell
$3,576
$3,754
$3,942
School Store
$2,450
$2,573
$2,701
Set Design
$2,425
$2,546
$2,673
Student Activities
$8,571
$8,999
$9,449
Student Council, Asst.
$3,075
$3,228
$3,390
Student Council
$3,147
$3,304
$3,469
Support Teacher (experienced)
$369
$387
$407
Support Teacher (new)
$550
$550
$550
Twirlers
$2,792
$2,932
$3,079
Unit Leader, CST,BSIP
$2,926
$3,072
$3,226
Unit Leader, Alternative
$2,926
$3,072
$3,226
Web Master
$4,804
$5,044
$5,297
Weight Training
$1,833
$1,924
$2,021


























Coaching Guide2002-03
1
2
3
45
BaseballHead
3774
4151
4573
50305533
Assistant
2797
3078
3390
37294102
Field HockeyHead
3837
4221
4649
51145626
Assistant
2805
3085
3399
37394113
BasketaballHead
4354
4790
5276
58046384
Assistant
3132
3446
3796
41754593
FootballHead
4749
5225
5755
63316964
Assistant
3406
3746
4128
45404994
GolfHead
2653
2918
3215
35373890
CrosscountryHead
3133
3447
3797
41764594
GymnasticsHead
3668
4034
4444
48885377
Assistant
2536
2789
3072
33803717
TrackHead
3740
4114
4532
49855483
Assistant
2693
2963
3264
35913950
SoccerHead
3776
4153
4576
50335537
Assistant
2838
3122
3435
37784156
TennisHead
2809
3090
3404
37454119
SoftballHead
3774
4151
4573
50305533
Assistant
2797
3078
3390
37294102
WrestlingHead
4051
4455
4909
54005940
Assistant
3027
3330
3669
40364439
Winter TrackHead 2653 2918 3215 3537 3890
All coaches will receive a 5% increase in 2002-03
All coaches will remain on 2001-02 step in 2002-03
2003-04
1
2
3
4
5
BaseballHead
3962
4358
4801
5282
5810
Assistant
2937
3231
3560
3916
4308
Field HockeyHead
4029
4432
4882
5370
5907
Assistant
2945
3239
3569
3926
4318
BasketballHead
4572
5030
5540
6094
6703
Assistant
3289
3618
3986
4384
4823
FootballHead
4987
5486
6043
6647
7312
Assistant
3577
3934
4334
4767
5244
GolfHead
2786
3064
3376
3713
4085
CrosscountryHead
3290
3620
3987
4385
4824
GymnasticsHead
3851
4236
4666
5132
5646
Assistant
2663
2928
3226
3549
3903
TrackHead
3927
4320
4758
5234
5758
Assistant
2828
3111
3428
3770
4147
SoccerHead
3965
4360
4805
5285
5814
Assistant
2980
3278
3606
3967
4364
TennisHead
2949
3245
3574
3932
4325
SoftballHead
3962
4358
4801
5282
5810
Assistant
2937
3231
3560
3916
4308
WrestlingHead
4253
4678
5154
5670
6237
Assistant
3179
3496
3852
4237
4661
Winter TrackHead 2786
3064
3376
3713
4085
All coaches on steps 1-4 will move up one step on guide
Coaches off guide will receive a 5% increase
Coaches on step 5 will receive a 5% increase and move off guide
2004-05
1
2
3
4
5
BaseballHead
4161
4359
4794
5282
5810
Assistant
3084
3231
3555
3916
4308
Field HockeyHead
4230
4431
4875
5370
5907
Assistant
3092
3239
3563
3926
4318
BasketaballHead
4801
5029
5533
6094
6703
Assistant
3453
3618
3980
4384
4823
FootballHead
5236
5485
6035
6647
7312
Assistant
3755
3934
4327
4767
5244
GolfHead
2925
3065
3370
3713
4085
CrosscountryHead
3454
3619
3981
4385
4824
GymnasticsHead
4044
4236
4659
5132
5646
Assistant
2796
2929
3221
3549
3903
TrackHead
4123
4320
4752
5234
5758
Assistant
2969
3111
3422
3770
4147
SoccerHead
4163
4361
4796
5285
5814
Assistant
3129
3278
3606
3967
4364
TennisHead
3097
3244
3569
3932
4325
SoftballHead
4161
4359
4794
5282
5810
Assistant
3084
3231
3555
3916
4308
WrestlingHead
4466
4679
5146
5670
6237
Assistant
3337
3496
3846
4237
4661
Winter TrackHead 2925 3065 3370 3713 4085
All coaches on steps 1-4 will move up one step on guide
Coaches off guide will receive a 5% increase
Coaches on step 5 will receive a 5% increase and move off guide

MISCELLANEOUS STIPENDS
Schedule D

Medical waiver payments

Single $1,000.
Parent/ Child $1,250.
Husband/ wife $1,750.
Family $2,000.

Dental $ 100.
Prescription $ 200.

Tuition Reimbursement

Pool $10,000.
Maximum per person per year $ 625.

Mileage
Set at the IRS approved rate

Independent Study Stipend
2002-05 $150.00 per student

Home Bound Instruction

2002-03 $24.00
2003-04 $25.00
2004-05 $26.00
Time in the field includes up to 1 hour of travel time.

Class coverage
ES/MS HS
2002-03 $19.50 $39.00
2003-04 $20.50 $41.00
2004-05 $21.50 $43.00

Curriculum Development

2002-03 $20.50
2003-04 $21.50
2004-05 $22.50

Professional Development Stipend

2002-05 $26.50

Co-Curricular not otherwise covered

2002-03 $16.50
2003-04 $17.50
2004-05 $18.50

Perfect Attendance $100.00
Outstanding Attendance $ 50.00

Appendix E- Reversion Language. Should Block scheduling be abandoned by the Board, the contract will revert to the following language.
ARTICLE VII
TEACHING HOURS AND TEACHING LOAD
A. Teaching Hours
1. Teacher Day
Members are expected to devote to their assignments, in meeting the needs of the young people, the time necessary to meet their responsibilities, but they shall not be required to clock in or clock out by hours and minutes but to check in and out on a sheet so designated by their building principals.
2. Length of Day - Full Time Employees
The total in-school workday of all teachers in the system shall consist of a minimum of seven hours and a maximum of seven and one-half hours in accordance with the requirements of the particular building needs. This time shall also include a duty free lunch period.
3. Less Than Full Time Employees
Any employee who is employed less than full time shall be entitled to a pro-rated share of those divisible benefits available to full time personnel (vis, sick days, professional days, personal days, lunch periods, preparation periods). The pro-rating shall be accomplished by applying a fraction to the total benefit available to full time personnel. The numerator of such fraction shall be the number of hours worked per week by the less than full time employee; the denominator shall be thirty-seven and one-half hours. All partial days will be rounded to the nearest half day.
It is understood and agreed that certain benefits cannot be pro-rated because they are non-divisible (vis, health insurance, dental insurance, prescription). To qualify for the aforementioned non-divisible benefits, during the term of this agreement, the less than full time personnel must work no less than twenty (20) hours per week. Teachers who work twenty (20) hours per week shall be paid one-half (1/2) of the salary determined by their step on guide and will continue to be eligible for and entitled to insurance coverage.
Less than full time teachers shall have, without division, all other rights and privileges guaranteed to full time teachers including, but not limited to, compensation for co-curricular positions, class coverage, and tuition reimbursement.
4. Arrival and Dismissal Time
Except as might be required because of duty needs, no High School teacher shall be required to report for work earlier than fifteen minutes before the opening of the pupils' school day, and shall be permitted to leave twenty minutes after the close of the pupils' school day. No Elementary School teacher shall be required to report more than ten minutes before the opening of the pupils' day. They shall not be required to stay for more than twenty minutes after the pupils' dismissal time on Tuesday through Friday. On Monday, they will be required to stay for 45 minutes after student dismissal for purposes of planning. On half-days, teachers who leave for lunch must be back at their assigned stations no later than 1:15 p.m.







B. Teaching Load
1. Grades 9-12
Realizing the absolute necessity of providing proper conditions for professional personnel, but subject to the Board's right to maintain the efficiency of the school district operations entrusted to it, no secondary teacher, except in cases of emergency shall have a work schedule exceeding five (5) student instruction periods, one (1) preparation period as provided hereinafter (E.1), and one (1) additional student contact period, exclusive of limited supervisory duties before and after school, as well as student activity periods scheduled during the school day. The High School Athletic Director shall have a maximum of three (3) student instruction periods and one (1) additional student contact period. This can only be changed by emergency conditions such as a change in school hours.
(Note: ATP language deleted as per agreement)
2. Elementary Schools K-8
The daily teaching load in the elementary schools, whenever possible will not exceed five and one-half (5 1/2) hours of pupil contact but in no instance will it exceed six (6) hours of pupil contact.
3. Department Heads (Grades 9-12)
Department heads shall not be assigned more than four (4) student instruction periods and one (1) student contact period on each day.
4. Number of Preparations (Grades 9-12)
High School teachers shall not be required to teach more than two (2) subject areas nor more than a total of three (3) teaching preparations. All possible efforts will be made in this direction. If an occasion arises where it is not possible, the Association will be consulted.
5. Continuous Teaching in Secondary Schools
Normally, secondary teachers shall not be required to teach continuously for more than three (3) periods. In the event it is necessary that a secondary teacher have four (4) continuous student instruction periods, the period following will not involve any student contact. When the administration feels that four (4) continuous student instruction periods are necessary, the Association will be consulted.
6. Continuous Teaching in Elementary Schools
Every effort will be made by the Administration to keep continuous teaching to a maximum of three (3) hours, three (3) periods.

C. Lunch Periods
1. Teachers shall have a daily duty-free lunch period in all schools which shall be a minimum of twenty (20) minutes duration.
2. Leaving of Building
Teachers may leave the building without requesting permission during their scheduled duty-free periods, but must indicate their absence on a sign-in sheet.
D. Meetings
1. Faculty and Other
Teachers may be required to remain after the end of the regular workday without additional compensation for the purpose of attending faculty or other professional meetings twice a month. Such meetings shall begin no later than ten (10) minutes after student dismissal time and shall run for no more than sixty (60) minutes. Except in cases of an emergency involving the health and safety of students and teachers, this shall be the rule.

2. Prior to Holidays and Weekends
Meetings which take place after the regular in-school workday and which require attendance shall not be held on Fridays or on any day immediately preceding any holiday or other day upon which teacher attendance is not required at school.
3. Notice and Agenda
The notice of an agenda for any meeting shall be given to the teachers involved at least three (3) days prior to the meetings, except in an emergency. Teachers shall be given an opportunity to suggest items for the agenda.

E. Preparation Time
1. Time Allotment
Preparations time will be provided as follows:
Grades K-8: One (1) period of forty (40) minutes duration per day, except for Special Services teachers who will have the equivalent of forty (40) minutes per day.
Grades 9-12: One (1) period per day (42 minutes):

2. Extra Pay and/or Release Time
It is desirable for each teacher to have an uninterrupted preparation period each day. The practice of using regular teachers as substitutes, thereby depriving them of their preparation period, is undesirable and shall be discouraged. In those cases where regular substitutes are not available, regular teachers who volunteer may be used as substitutes during their non-teaching time. In the absence of volunteers, a teacher may be assigned to serve as a substitute. Volunteers and assigned teachers shall be paid at the rate as listed in schedule D.

F. Extra-Curricular Activities
Teachers will be compensated for extra-curricular activities in accordance with the pay schedule adopted and attached as a part of this contract. This does not include evening activities, PTA meetings or other such type functions. All coaching and extra-curricular activities shall be performed on a voluntary basis. For those services rendered in connection with student activities for which a stipend or hourly rate is not otherwise provided in this agreement, the hourly rate as listed in schedule D.
ARTICLE VIII
NON-TEACHING DUTIES

A. Scope of Professionalism
The Board of Education adhering to the philosophy that the teaching profession embraces varied contacts with children in order that a professional may get to know a youngster better, feels that the scope of professionalism extends beyond the walls of the classroom and embraces other responsibilities.





1. Volunteer Assistants
Every effort will be made to initiate a program whereby volunteer assistants will assist elementary teachers in supervising the cafeteria and playground during lunch periods.
2. Cafeteria Supervision
In regard to cafeteria supervision of high school students, all available certificated personnel will be rotated on an equitable basis, and the non-teaching schedule will not be arranged to avoid that duty.
3. Hall Duty
Each period a high school teacher will insure that the halls are cleared.

B. Extra Duties
In the scheduling of extra duties, the Association chairperson of each building will be consulted by the principal in the building in order that an equitable arrangement may be achieved.


Addendum F

a. A $500 annual increment will be awarded to qualifying certificated staff members on September 30th starting in 1998.
b. To qualify for the PDI, staff members must successfully complete 45 hours of professional development courses* offered by the school district between November 6, 1996 and August 31, 1998.
c. Staff members must be employed prior to November 6, 1996 to be eligible for the PDI.
d. Staff members enrolled in the PDI program will not receive an hourly stipend for participating in the courses.
e. Only courses offered beyond regular school hours or during the summer will be counted toward the 45 hour requirement.

* Each professional development program will include a classroom application component.
The ACEP coaching course will not count toward the 45 hour requirement.
Workshops offered outside of the school must have prior administrative approval in order to count toward the 45 hour requirement. The cost of such workshops is the responsibility of the staff member.
This language will be retained in this contract until the last person who has qualified for this increment has left the district. A list of the qualified members will be made available to the Association annually by the Superintendent or his/her designee.








APPROVED


_____________________________ ___________________________
Warren Gessmann, President Lynn Meara, President
Upper Freehold Regional Upper Freehold Regional
Education Association Board of Education

____________ ____________
Date Date


____________________________ _________________________
Philip Magazzo, Negotiation Barry Wright, Negotiation
Chairperson, Upper Freehold Chairperson, Upper Freehold
Regional Education Assoc. Regional Board of Education

____________ ____________
Date Date
11
Assistants’
ASSISTANTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS





ARTICLE I RECOGNITION 2

ARTICLE II NEGOTIATION PROCEDURES 2

ARTICLE III GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES 2

ARTICLE IV HOURS OF WORK 4

ARTICLE V SICK LEAVE 4

ARTICLE VI PERSONAL LEAVES 5

ARTICLE VII CALENDAR 6

ARTICLE VIII SALARIES 6

ARTICLE IX INSURANCE PROTECTION 7

ARTICLE X DEDUCTIONS 8

ARTICLE XI PROMOTIONS 9

ARTICLE XII EVALUATIONS 9

ARTICLE XIII VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS 9

ARTICLE XIV PERFECT/OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE 9

ARTICLE XV MISCELLANEOUS PROVISION 10

ARTICLE XVI ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONTRACT 10

SALARY CHARTS 11


ARTICLE I
RECOGNITION

A. Pursuant to Chapter 123, P.L. 1974, State of New Jersey, the Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education hereby recognizes the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association as the exclusive and sole representative for the purpose of collective negotiations concerning grievances and terms and conditions of employment for all assistants including: Non-Instructional Assistants, and Instructional Assistants.
B. Unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, the personnel included in this unit agreement described above shall hereinafter be referred to as employees.
ARTICLE II
ENTIRE AGREEMENT - NEGOTIATIONS PROCEDURE

A. During the term of this Agreement, neither party shall be required to negotiate with respect to any matter whether or not covered by this Agreement and whether or not within the knowledge or contemplation of either or both of the parties at the time they negotiated or executed this Agreement.
B. In the event that the parties mutually agree to alter, amend or supplement this Agreement, the terms of any subsequent Agreement shall be reduced to writing, signed by the parties hereto, ratified by the Association and adopted by the Board. The terms hereof shall not be otherwise changed, modified or amended.
C. In accordance with the provisions of Chapter 123, Public Laws of 1973 of the State of New Jersey, the parties agree to commence negotiations for the successor agreement not later than September 30, 1992.
D. Neither party in any negotiations shall have any control over the selection of the negotiating representative of the other party.
E. The Board agrees that during the term hereof, it will not negotiate concerning the employees in the bargaining unit defined in Article I with any other organization other than the Association.
ARTICLE III
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A. Definitions
1. A grievance shall mean an alleged violation, interpretation or application of any provision of this Agreement or an alleged violation, interpretation or application of any policies or administrative decisions affecting terms and conditions of employment.
2. A grievant is the person or persons alleging said violation.
3. An employee shall mean any paid assistant.
4. An immediate supervisor shall mean that member of Administration to whom the employee normally reports, or their designee.

B. Grievance Procedure
1. When an employee believes they have been aggrieved, they may present a grievance either orally or in writing to their immediate supervisor. All grievances shall be presented not later than twenty (20) calendar days following the occurrence which is the basis for the grievance.
2. A reply to the grievance shall be received not later than twenty (20) calendar days following the presentation of the grievance.
3. Should a grievant be dissatisfied with the reply to the grievance at the initial step of the procedure, the employee may request that the grievance be reviewed by the Superintendent. The grievant's request shall be made in writing no later than seven (7) calendar days following the reply to the grievance at the step below. The grievant shall be required to provide in writing the basis for the grievance at the time the member requests a review of the grievance by the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall reply to the grievance no later than seven (7) calendar days following this level of review.
4. Should a grievant be dissatisfied with the reply to the grievance given by the Superintendent, the member may request that the grievance be reviewed by the Board. The grievant shall be required to notify the Board in writing not later than five (5) calendar days following the reply given by the Superintendent of her desire to have the grievance reviewed. Upon being notified of the grievant's intention, the Board shall schedule a hearing date, if so required, for the grievance not later than twenty (20 calendar days following the hearing of the grievance. The word "Board" as used in this paragraph, shall mean a committee of the Board made up of members of the Board which the Board so designates.
5. Should the Association be dissatisfied with the determination rendered by the Board, it may submit the grievance to advisory arbitration within fifteen (15) calendar days following the determination of the Board. A request for a list of arbitrators shall be made to the American Arbitration Association by either party. The parties shall be bound by the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association in the selection of an arbitrator.
6. In the event of arbitration, the costs of the arbitrator's services shall be shared equally by the parties and each of the parties shall bear their own costs.
7. All hearings under this procedure shall be conducted in private and shall include only persons directly concerned and their designated or selected representatives.
8. The arbitrator shall limit any decisions strictly to the alleged violation, application and interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement and shall be without power or authority to make any decisions.
(a) Contrary to, or inconsistent with, or modifying or varying in any way, the terms of this agreement, or of applicable law or rules or regulations having the force and effect of law.
(b) Involving Board policy or practice under the provisions of this Agreement, or under applicable law; except that he may decide in a particular case that the Board policy, practice or administrative decision was disregarded or that its attempted application under any term of this Agreement was so discriminatory, arbitrary or capricious to constitute an abuse of discretion.
(c) Limiting or interfering in any way with the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Board under applicable law, and rules and regulations having the force and effect of law.

C. Miscellaneous
The time limits set forth in the foregoing procedures shall be considered maximum time limits. Failure of the grievant to proceed within the time limits set forth shall constitute an abandonment of the grievance. Failure at any step of the procedure by one charged with rendering a decision within the time limits set forth shall be tantamount to permitting the grievant to proceed to the next step outlined in the foregoing procedure.
ARTICLE IV
HOURS OF WORK

A. Subject to the provisions below, all full-time Assistants shall work eight (8) hours per day, inclusive of one-half hour duty free lunch period. The parties agree that there is a need for flexibility in scheduling the hours in the work day. Accordingly, the Building Principal, in his discretion, may schedule the eight-hour work day between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., or 7:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., or 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., or 8:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., or 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or 8:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m., or 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
B. The work day on Friday and days preceding holidays shall be reduced by thirty (30) minutes.
C. All half-time Assistants shall work four (4) hours per day. The working hours for said half-time personnel shall be scheduled by the Building Principal of all building personnel and by the Superintendent of Schools for all other personnel. Any half-time personnel required to work a full day shall receive a half-hour duty free lunch period.
D. Employees in the unit shall not be required to work on days which the schools are closed due to inclement weather.
E. Employees in the unit shall be entitled to one (1) uninterrupted rest period of fifteen (15) minutes during the morning and one (1) uninterrupted rest period of fifteen (15) minutes during the afternoon, at such time as shall be mutually agreed upon by the employee and the immediate supervisor.
F. Compensatory time shall be handled at the building level whereby the building head will be responsible for processing applications in connection with same and communicating decisions to the employee involved.
ARTICLE V
SICK LEAVE

A. All ten-month employees shall be allowed, without deduction from salary twelve (12) sick days leave per year.
B. The aforementioned sick leave is cumulative. The total number of days of sick leave that may be used by an employee in any one year shall be the current annual sick leave allowance of twelve (12) plus the accumulated reserve.
C. No employee shall accumulate any sick leave while on an authorized leave of absence.
D. Sick leave time shall only be granted in the event the employee is ill. The utilization of sick leave by an employee in the event of illness in her immediate family or for any other purpose other than that expressed herein is prohibited.
E. Any member who retires/dies with at least fifteen (15) years of service in the Upper Freehold Regional School District and has accumulated at least 50% of their sick leave at the time of retirement/death, will be compensated for the accumulated sick leave in accordance with the following formula which is based upon the years of experience in the Upper Freehold Regional School District.
Formula for computing the accumulated sick leave/retirement/death benefit for non-certificated staff members.

Step 1 Ascertain number of years of service and annual salary upon retirement
Step 2 Using the teacher's guide for the step equal to the number of years of service of the individual retiring, locate the salary on the Bachelor's guide and that will give you the denominator of the fraction used in the calculation.
Step 3 Using the chart* in the teacher's agreement to determine the numerator, which will be a number between $2,000 and $4,000. Divide by the teacher's salary which for the 1984-85 school year was between $14,364 and $31,598. That will yield a percent between 7.5% and 12.7%. That percentage shall be applied to the retiree's annual salary to yield retirement benefit.

Example After 18 years of service a non-certificated employee is retiring. Her salary at the time of retirement is $14,450. Article XIV of the teachers' contract for 15-19 years of service = $2,000. Teacher's salary at step 18 = $25,739.

2000
25,739 = 7.8%

7.8% x $14,450 = $1,127 accumulated sick leave retirement benefit.
1993 - 1996

Years of Service Compensation
15 $2,000
20 2,500
25 3,000
30 3,500
35 4,000

Written notice of intent to retire must be submitted to the Superintendent's Office ninety (90) days prior to the issuance of the accumulated sick leave retirement benefit.
ARTICLE VI
PERSONAL LEAVES OF ABSENCE

A. A maximum of three (3) days of absence annually may be allowed with full pay. Such days will be granted without a reason being expressed by the application other than the day is being taken pursuant to this section. In no event will approval for any of the three (3) days' absence be automatically granted immediately before or immediately after a holiday or vacation or when three (3) consecutive personal days are requested. In the latter two situations the days shall only be granted after approval of the administration.
Other legitimate requests for emergency leave may be approved by the Superintendent. In order to obtain such leave, the applicant shall make a request and receive approval from the Superintendent in advance. Except in cases of emergency, application for leave shall be made at least twenty-four (24) hours before the date for which the leave is requested.
Any employee who is employed for the entire school year and does not utilize any of the three (3) available personal days shall receive credit for one (1) additional sick leave day at the commencement of the following year. Personal leave is non-accumulative.
B. The number of school days, not to exceed five (5), will be allowed without loss of pay in the event of each death in the immediate family. The term immediate family shall be understood to include only the following: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Father-in-law, Mother, Mother-in-law, Husband, Wife, Child, Brother, Sister. An allowance of one (1) day per year in case of the death of a relative not heretofore mentioned will be granted.
C. Leave for illness in the family. Once personal leave is exhausted, assistants would be eligible for a maximum of five (5) days leave for illness in the family at a salary reduction of $18.25 per day.
D. Unused personal days will be converted to sick days as of July/September 1st of the subsequent school year.
ARTICLE VII
CALENDAR

A. The work year for Assistants shall consist of one hundred eight-six (186) working days scheduled between September 1st and June 30th as follows: Begin the same day as all teachers, plus one hundred eighty-one (181) student days, plus three (3) days between the last day for students in June and June 30th.
B. Assistants may be required to participate in district in-service programs at the discretion of the administration. Requests from assistants to participate in district in-service programs shall be made to their immediate supervisors. If approved, the supervisors shall submit the request to the Director of Curriculum for processing.
C. Assistants may apply for one (1) para-professional day for professional growth activities. Approval of the immediate supervisor and Superintendent will be required. The district's extant form for professional days will be used for such requests.
D. Written notification of contract renewal/non-renewal and salary status for the following year will be given each employee on or before June 30th of each school year.
E. All Assistants may fulfill their responsibilities for one or more of their three (3) working days beyond the teachers’ work year by working an equivalent number of hours beyond their normal working day on a "comp time" basis during the school year with the approval of their immediate supervisor.
ARTICLE VIII
SALARIES

A. The Board shall pay salaries in accordance with the salary schedules attached hereto and made a part thereof.
B. The Board reserves the right to withhold an increment for just cause.
C. The Board retains the authority to specify the salary of new positions and to determine the credit to be awarded for placement on any existing salary guide.



D. Severance Clause-
Should the Board decide to privatize, pursuant to law, its non-instructional staff, there shall be certain remuneration paid as severance pay.
a. One week salary for each full year of service in the Board’s employ.
b. The Board, in it’s sole discretion, may increase the foregoing for any employee who has twenty(20) or more full years of employment with the Board.
ARTICLE IX
INSURANCE PROTECTION

1. The Board of Education shall provide health coverage for both employee and dependents where applicable with the said carrier. The carrier for the 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 school years will be Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of New Jersey. The coverage provided will be equal to or better than the existing coverage provided by the State Health Benefits Program covering State employees. A copy of coverage will be provided for each employee.

2. Dental and Prescription Insurance will be Board paid as follows:
Dental coverage will be carried under the Delta Dental Insurance terms in effect during the 1998-99 contract year at a co-pay rate of 80/20.
Prescription co-pay will be: $ 0.00 for mail prescriptions, $ 5.00 for generic prescriptions and $10.00 for name brand prescriptions.

Coverage for each member of the unit shall commence only after individual members make application for said coverage and execute the necessary enrollment card. The administration of the aforementioned plan shall be controlled by the underwriter in accordance with its rules and regulations.
At the commencement of the 1994-95 contract year, any employee who elects to waive medical benefits will receive in lieu thereof the following cash payments:
Single $1,000
Parent/child $1,250
Husband/ Wife $1,750
Family $2,000

At the same point in time, any employee who elects to waive dental or prescription benefits will receive in lieu thereof the following cash payments:
Dental $ 100
Prescription $ 200
The Board will make application for IRS approval to ensure that those employees who do not opt out of the Health Insurance Plan will not have the insurance costs taxed as income in accordance with Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Support staff employed 30 hours or more of a regular full time assignment will be eligible for coverage.




All new hires, commencing with the 1997-98 school year, will receive single health insurance coverage. Such individuals shall have the option to purchase, at their own expense, coverage in addition to their individual coverage. All full time, tenure eligible employees and those meeting the requirements in Paragraph B above, shall receive full health insurance (husband/wife, parent/child, family, whichever is applicable)upon attaining tenure. All employees who are not tenure eligible, who are employed thirty(30) or more hours per week, shall receive full health insurance benefits(husband/wife, parent/child, family, whichever is applicable)after having worked 3 consecutive full years of employment.
ARTICLE X
DEDUCTIONS FROM SALARY
A- Payroll and Dues Deductions
The Board agrees to deduct from the salary of its employees dues for the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association and the New Jersey Education Association. Such deductions shall be made in compliance with Chapter 233, New Jersey Public Laws of 1969 (N.J.S. 52:14-15.9(e)), and under rules established by the State Department of Education. Said moneys together with current records of any corrections shall be transmitted to such person as may from time to time be designated by the Association. Such transmittal shall be made by the 15th of each month following the monthly pay period in which deductions were made.

B -REPRESENTATION FEE
1. If any employee does not become a member of the Association during any school year commencing July 1 and concluding June 30, which is covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, said employee shall be required to pay a representation fee to the Association for that school year. The purpose of this fee will be to offset the employee's per capita cost of services rendered by the Association as majority representative.
2. Within ten days after the beginning of each school year, the amount of said representation fee shall be calculated by the Association pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:17-3.4 and certified to the Board by the Association, which amount shall not exceed eighty-five percent (85%) of the regular membership dues, fees and assessments charged by the union to its own membership.
3. Once during each school year covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, the Association will submit to the Board a list of those employees who have not become members of the Association for the then current school year. The Board will deduct the representation fee in equal installments, as nearly as possible, from the paycheck paid to each employee on the aforesaid list during the remainder of the membership year in question.
4. The employer shall remit the amount deducted to the Association monthly, on or before the 15th of the month following the month in which such deductions were made.
5. These deductions shall commence thirty (30) days after the beginning of employment in the unit or ten (10) days after re-entry into employment in the unit.
6. The Association shall establish and maintain at all times a demand and return system as provided by N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.5(c) and 5.6, and membership in the Association shall be available to all employees in the unit on an equal basis at all times. In the event the Association fails to maintain such a system or if membership is not so available, the employer shall immediately cease making said deductions.
7. The Association shall indemnify and hold the Board harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits and other forms of liability, including liability for reasonable counsel fees and costs and expenses, that shall arise out of, or by reason of any action taken or not taken by the Board for the purpose of complying with any of the provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE XI
PROMOTIONS

Promotions shall be made at the sole discretion of the Superintendent of Schools.
ARTICLE XII
EMPLOYEE EVALUATION

Employees shall have opportunities to confer with their immediate supervisors for the purposes of identifying strengths, weaknesses and discussing ways and means to improve overall performance. These conferences shall include written evaluation reports, and shall be scheduled by the supervisor and/or principal at least once in each contract year before April 1st. Employees shall be given copies of the evaluation report and shall be requested to sign it at the completion of the conference. Opportunity shall be given to the employee to file a written response. The response and the evaluation shall be forwarded to the Superintendent and shall be filed in the central personnel file.
ARTICLE XIII
VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS

A. In the event that a vacancy occurs in any unit position, the Superintendent shall, within a reasonable time thereafter, notify the Association thereof and post notice of the vacancy on the bulletin board in the main office of each school.
B. Any employee in the unit who desires to transfer to another building may file a written statement of request to do so with the Superintendent, including the positions and the location to which transfer is desired.
C. In the review of requests for voluntary transfer, the Board shall retain unilaterally the right to dispose of any such request as it sees fit.

ARTICLE XIV
PERFECT/OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE

Employees who qualify for the district's Perfect Attendance Award for the previous year shall receive a bonus of $100.00 on October 31st.
Employees who qualify for the district's Outstanding Attendance Award for the previous year shall receive a bonus of $50.00 on October 31st.



ARTICLE XV
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Children of Support Staff Members not domiciled in the regional school district who are enrolled in the Upper Freehold Regional School District shall be permitted to continue on roll without payment of tuition.(note deletion of date reference) Beginning with the 1990-91 school year children not heretofore enrolled shall only be enrolled without payment of tuition upon the recommendation of the Superintendent after considering impact of the school district in terms of class size, cost, and staff workload. This restriction would not apply to support staff members employed and working prior to July 1, 1990.
ARTICLE XVI
ADMINISTRATION OF CONTRACT

A. If any provisions of this Agreement or any application of the Agreement to any employee or group of employees is held to be contrary to law, then such provision or application shall not be deemed valid and subsisting, except to the extent permitted by law; but all other provisions or applications shall continue in full force and effect.
B. Any individual employment contract issued to a member of the bargaining unit shall be subject to the provisions hereof as to salary and the terms and conditions of employment.

C. Whenever any notice is required to be given by either of the parties to this Agreement to the other, pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, either party shall do so by certified letter at the following addresses:

1. If by the Association, to the Board at:
Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education
27 High Street
Allentown, New Jersey 08501

2. If by the Board, to the Association at:
President, Upper Freehold Regional Education
Association
Home Address (to be advised)


Non-Instructional Assistants
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
1st split
2nd split
1st split
2nd split
X
13,566 13,973 14,434 14,766 15,467
Y
14,145 14,570 15,050 15,397 16,128
Z
14,748 15,191 15,692 16,053 16,816
A
15,682 16,152 16,685 17,069 17,880
B
16,496 16,990 17,551 17,955 18,808
C
17,312 17,831 18,420 18,843 19,739
D
18,235 18,782 19,402 19,849 20,791
E
18,935 19,503 20,147 20,610 21,589
F
19,746 20,338 21,009 21,493 22,514
G
20,797 21,421 22,128 22,637 23,712
H
21,514 22,160 22,891 23,418 24,530
I
22,211 22,877 23,632 24,175 25,324
J
23,077 23,770 24,554 25,119 26,312
K
23,775 24,488 25,296 25,878 27,107
L
24,576 25,313 26,148 26,750 28,020
M
25,531 26,297 27,164 27,789 29,109
N
26,175 26,961 27,850 28,491 29,844
O
26,998 27,808 28,725 29,386 30,782


11 Assistants’







                          Instructional Assistants
                          2002-03
                          2003-04
                          2004-05
                          1st split
                          2nd split
                          1st split
                          2nd split
                          X
                          16,091 16,573 17,120 17,514 18,346
                          Y
                          16,507 17,003 17,564 17,968 18,821
                          Z
                          16,969 17,478 18,055 18,470 19,347
                          A
                          17,421 17,944 18,536 18,962 19,863
                          B
                          18,303 18,852 19,474 19,922 20,868
                          C
                          19,444 20,027 20,688 21,164 22,169
                          D
                          20,357 20,967 21,659 22,157 23,210
                          E
                          21,268 21,906 22,629 23,150 24,249
                          F
                          22,180 22,845 23,599 24,142 25,289
                          G
                          23,088 23,781 24,566 25,131 26,324
                          H
                          23,994 24,714 25,529 26,116 27,357
                          I
                          24,900 25,647 26,493 27,102 28,390
                          J
                          25,807 26,581 27,458 28,090 29,424
                          K
                          26,709 27,510 28,418 29,072 30,452
                          L
                          27,611 28,439 29,378 30,053 31,481
                          M
                          28,512 29,367 30,336 31,034 32,508
                          N
                          29,409 30,292 31,291 32,011 33,531
                          O
                          30,322 31,232 32,263 33,005 34,572
12 Assistants’
13
Custodial
CUSTODIANS
This language is being retained in the event of a return to in house custodial services
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLE I RECOGNITION 2

ARTICLE II NEGOTIATIONS PROCEDURES 2

ARTICLE III GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES 2

ARTICLE IV EMPLOYEE RIGHTS 4

ARTICLE V ASSOCIATION RIGHTS 4

ARTICLE VI EMPLOYEE WORK YEAR 4

ARTICLE VII EMPLOYEE HOURS AND LOAD 5

ARTICLE VIII EMPLOYMENT 5

ARTICLE IX INSURANCE 6

ARTICLE X PROMOTIONS 7

ARTICLE XI EVALUATIONS 7

ARTICLE XII SICK LEAVE 8

ARTICLE XIII PERSONAL LEAVES OF ABSENCE 9

ARTICLE XIV DEDUCTIONS 10

ARTICLE XV FLOATING HOLIDAYS 11

ARTICLE XVI PERFECT/OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE 11

ARTICLE XVII MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 11

ARTICLE XVIII BOARD'S RIGHTS 12

ARTICLE XIX DURATION OF AGREEMENT 12

SALARY CHARTS 13


ARTICLE I
RECOGNITION

The Board hereby recognized the Association as the exclusive bargaining representative for the following described unit:
1. Custodians
Excluded from the unit shall be the Director of Buildings and Grounds, Asst. Director of Buildings and Grounds, Asst. Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds, the Head Custodian and Groundskeepers.
ARTICLE II
NEGOTIATION PROCEDURE

The exclusive representative shall submit in writing proposals for collective negotiation to the Board for commencing negotiations in any subsequent school year in which this Agreement expires. Negotiations shall commence in accordance with the timetable established by PERC of the same year and ground rules will be determined by the parties in negotiation at the first meeting.
This Agreement shall not be modified in whole or in part except by an instrument in writing executed by both parties.
ARTICLE III
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A. Definitions
1. A grievance shall mean an alleged violation, interpretation or application of any provision of this Agreement or an alleged violation, interpretation or application of any policies or administrative decisions affecting terms and conditions of employment.
2. A grievant is the person or persons alleging said violation.
3. An employee shall mean any person in the unit as defined in the Recognition article of this Agreement.
4. An immediate superior shall mean that member of the staff to whom the employee normally reports, or his designee.
B. Grievance Procedure
1. When an employee believes they have been aggrieved, they may present a grievance either orally or in writing to their immediate superior. All grievances shall be presented not later than twenty (20) calendar days following the occurrence which is the basis for the grievance.
2. Should the employee present his grievance orally and it is not resolved to this satisfaction within five (5) weekdays, they shall set forth his grievance in writing to the Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds and the Association specifying:
a. the nature of the grievance;
b. the nature and extent of the injury, loss or inconvenience;
c. the results of previous discussions;
d. any dissatisfaction with discussions previously rendered;
e. remedy sought.
3. A reply to the written grievance shall be received not later than twenty (20) calendar days following the presentation of the grievance.
4. Should a grievant be dissatisfied with the reply to the grievance at the initial step of the procedure, they may request that their grievance be reviewed by the Superintendent. The grievant's request shall be made in writing no later than seven (7) calendar days following the reply to the grievance at the step below. The grievant shall be required to provide in writing the basis for the grievance at the time they requests a review of the grievance by the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall reply to the grievance no later than seven (7) calendar days following his review.
5. Should a grievant be dissatisfied with the reply of the grievance given by the Superintendent, they may request that the grievance be reviewed by the Board. The grievant shall be required to notify the Board in writing not later than five (5) calendar days following the reply given by the Superintendent of a desire to have the grievance reviewed. Upon being notified of the grievant's intention, the Board shall schedule a hearing date, if so requested, for the grievance not later than twenty (20) calendar days following receipt of the notice. The grievant may have a representative of their own choosing present when the grievance is being reviewed by the Board. The Board shall render a written decision not later than twenty (20) calendar days following the hearing of the grievance. The word "Board" as used in this paragraph shall mean a committee of the Board made up of members of the Board which the Board so designates.
6. Should the Association be dissatisfied with the determination rendered by the Board, it may submit the grievance to advisory arbitration within fifteen (15) calendar days following the determination of the Board. A request for a list of arbitrators shall be made to the American Arbitration Association by either party. The parties shall be bound by the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association in the selection of an arbitrator.
7. In the event of arbitration, the costs of the arbitrator's services shall be shared equally by the parties and each of the parties shall bear their own costs.
8. All hearings under this procedure shall be conducted in private and shall include only persons directly concerned and their designated or selected representatives.
9. The arbitrator shall limit their decision strictly to the alleged violation, application and interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement and shall be without power or authority to make any decisions:
(a) Contrary to, or inconsistent with, or modifying or varying in any way, the terms of this agreement, or of applicable law or rules or regulations having the force and effect of law.
(b) Involving Board policy or practice under the provisions of this Agreement, or under applicable law, except that he may decide in a particular case that the Board policy, practice or administrative decision was disregarded or that its attempted application under any term of this agreement was so discriminatory, arbitrary or capricious to constitute an abuse of discretion.
(c) Limiting or interfering in any way with the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Board under applicable law, and rules and regulations having the force and effect of law.
C. Miscellaneous
The time limits set forth in the foregoing procedures shall be considered maximum time limits. Failure of the grievant to proceed within the time limits set forth shall constitute an abandonment of the grievance. Failure at any step of the procedure by one charged with rendering a decision within the time limits set forth shall be tantamount to permitting the grievant to proceed to the next step outlined in the foregoing procedure.
All documents, communications and records dealing with the processing of a grievance shall be filed in a separate grievance file and shall not be kept in the personnel file of any of the participants.
ARTICLE IV
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

1. Criticism of an employee by any administrator regarding the employee's job performance shall be made in confidence and not in the presence of colleagues, parents or students.
2. Whenever the Board of Education or any of its committees requires any employee to appear before the Board or such committee, concerning any disciplinary matter which could adversely affect the employee's position or salary, such employee shall be given prior notice of the reasons for such meeting or interview and shall be entitled to have a person of their choosing present to advise and represent them during such meeting.
ARTICLE V
ASSOCIATION RIGHTS

1. The Board agrees, within a reasonable period of time after receiving a written request, to make available to the Association information in the public domain.
2. The Association shall have the right to hang a reasonable size bulletin board in each faculty room.
3. The Association and its representatives shall be permitted to use a school room at reasonable hours for Association meetings provided a written request for such use is made to the Superintendent of Schools. Before any such request, it must comply with the guidelines outlined in Board policies.
4. The Association shall be permitted reasonable use of school equipment provided it meets all of the requirements set forth in Board policy regarding such use.
ARTICLE VI
EMPLOYEE WORK YEAR

1. The Board shall have the absolute right to establish the school calendar. Should the Association desire to make recommendations concerning said calendar, said recommendations shall be delivered to the Superintendent no later than February 1 of each year of the Agreement's duration.
2. The work year for twelve-month employees shall commence on July 1 and conclude on June 30. The work year for ten-month employees shall commence on September 1 and conclude on June 30.
3. Twelve-month employees shall receive the following vacation time:
a. Employment for less than one year shall carry an entitlement of one working day for each month employed and the restriction that no vacation may be taken unless employment has been for a minimum of two (2) months.
b. Employment for one year, but less than eight (8) years, ten (10) working days.
c. Employment for eight (8) years or more, fifteen (15) working days.
d. The Board reserves the right to specify the conditions under which vacation may be taken. The Board, in its sole discretion has the right to implement a common ten (10) day vacation period for all employees in the unit. Those employees entitled to more than ten (10) days vacation in one year would receive, should the Board implement a common vacation, that portion of his vacation in excess of ten (10) days in the manner herein provided.

Employees eligible for vacation must apply for same to the Superintendent at least three (3) months in advance of the desired start date. Special consideration shall be given to emergencies. All applications are subject to final approval by the Superintendent.
Vacations must be taken with two (2) years of the time earned. In no event shall an employee be permitted to carry forward to a subsequent year more than ten (10) vacation days. Accumulated vacation days in excess of ten, which are not used in any particular year, will be considered abandoned. No payment shall be made for abandoned vacation time.
An employee who anticipates termination of their services may take accrued vacation prior to the termination date with proper approval as set forth above. Accrued vacation may be paid to the estate of a deceased employee or to a retiring employee.
4. If school is closed early due to inclement weather or snow accumulation, custodial staff shall only be required to work a six hour day. If custodians agree to work longer than six hours on such days, they shall be given the option of receiving time and a half or compensatory time on a date mutually agreeable to the employee and the supervisor.
5. Employees shall be granted the following days as holidays during the 1986-1987 and 1987-1988 school years: Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, Day after Christmas, New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Easter Monday and Memorial Day. Should any of the foregoing holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the administration shall schedule an alternate day off, with pay, for all unit members.
ARTICLE VII
EMPLOYEE HOURS AND LOAD

1. The work day of an employee shall consist of eight (8) hours exclusive of a lunch period. The employer shall have discretion in establishing daily work schedules.
2. Meetings which take place after the regular in-school work day and which require attendance by the employee shall not be called on Fridays or on any day immediately preceding a holiday or day upon which employee attendance at work is not required; unless administratively necessary as determined by the Superintendent of Schools.
3. It shall be a condition of continued employment for all those presently employed to possess a Black Seal License within one year of the execution of this Agreement. All new employees hired following the execution of this Agreement shall, as a condition of continued employment, possess a Black Seal License on or before the first anniversary date of their employment.
4. Any hours worked by an employee over and above a work week of forty (40) hours will be compensated at a rate of time and a half.
5. Before premium pay will be made, the custodial employee must work in excess of their regular shift or an equivalent number of hours. It is agreed that during the summer season or parts of it, certain custodial employees' regular shift may consist of four (4) ten-hour days per week.
6. The Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education agrees to give five (5) calendar days notice to an employee when it becomes necessary to change the employee's shift, except in cases of emergency, as determined by the employer.
ARTICLE VIII
EMPLOYMENT

1. Each employee shall be placed on the proper step of the salary guide as negotiated between the Board of Education and the Association. It is agreed that the placement of all unit members as reflected on Schedule "B" of this Agreement is proper.
2. Previously accumulated sick days shall be restored to all returning employees on Board-approved leaves, but no days shall be added for the period of leave.
3. All employees who shall not receive a contract, salary increment or raise shall be notified in writing no later than April 30th.
4. Upon written request, an employee whose contract is not renewed, will be given the reasons for such non-renewal.
5. The Board shall upon request provide the Association with a seniority list for employees indicating date of hire. This list shall be updated annually by September 30th.
ARTICLE IX
INSURANCE

1- The Board of Education shall provide health coverage for both employee and dependents where applicable with the said carrier. The carrier for the 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96 school years will be CIGNA. The coverage provided will be equal to or better than the existing coverage provided by the State Health Benefits Program covering State employees. A copy of coverage will be provided for each employee.


2. Premium Increases for Dental and Prescription Insurance combined shall be board paid as follows:
Increases up to and including the negotiated settlement percentage. 1996-97; 3.95%
1997-98; 4.15%
1998-99: 4.25%
Premium increases beyond these specified above shall be paid by the employee subject to the following limits:
$100 per year per employee or
10% of the total premium whichever is less.
Coverage for each member of the unit shall commence only after individual members make application for said coverage and execute the necessary enrollment card. The administration of the aforementioned plan shall be controlled by the underwriter in accordance with its rules and regulations.
At the commencement of the 1994-95 contract year, any employee who elects to waive medical benefits will receive in lieu thereof the following cash payments:

Single $1,000
Parent/child $1,250
Husband/ Wife $1,750
Family $2,000
At the same point in time, any employee who elects to waive dental or prescription benefits will receive in lieu thereof the following cash payments:
Dental $ 100
Prescription $ 200
These payments are individual to each employee and shall not impact upon the tax liability of medical, dental, or prescription benefits received by members remaining in the plan, in accordance with Section 25 of the
Employees who work 20 hours or more per week shall continue to be eligible for and entitled to Insurance coverage.
ARTICLE X
PROMOTIONS

1. Except in cases of emergency, a notice of a vacancy in any position to be filled shall be sent to each school for posting at least ten (10) days before the final date when applications must be submitted. A copy shall be sent to the Association if such a vacancy becomes available in a summer recess period when schools are closed.
2. Employees who desire to apply for any such vacancies above, shall submit their application in writing to the Superintendent. When a vacancy described in the notice is filled, the Superintendent may destroy all applications for said position.
3. Employees who desire to apply for a position which may be filled during the summer period when school is not regularly in session shall submit their name to the Superintendent, together with the position(s) for which they apply, and an address where they can be reached during the summer. The Superintendent shall notify such employees of any vacancy in a position for which they applied.
4. All employees shall be given opportunity to make application, and no position shall be filled until all properly submitted applications have been considered.
ARTICLE XI
EVALUATIONS

1. The parties recognize the importance of implementing a program of employee evaluations for the purpose of promoting individual job performance and improving services to students. Evaluations of employees shall be conducted twice annually by their immediate supervisor.
2. Employees shall have the right to receive a copy of their observation report and shall have the right to a signed copy of any formal observation report.
3. Nothing in an employee's file will be used in disciplinary proceedings unless the employee has received a copy prior to any hearing for discipline.
4. An employee may request the right to inspect material in their individual personnel file, except that all pre-employment material shall be treated as confidential and shall not be made available to the employee. An employee may make a copy of the material which they is permitted to inspect.
5. Although the Board agrees to protect the confidentiality of personal references, academic credentials and other similar documents, it shall not establish any separate personnel file which is not available for the employee's inspection.
6. Any disciplinary warning notice will be considered for removal from the personnel file after two years, on a case by case basis, after application being made by the employee.
ARTICLE XII
SICK LEAVE

1. Sick leave is defined as leave taken by a person steadily employed by the school district who is absent from the assigned post of duty because of personal disability due to illness or injury or because a member has been excluded from school by the school district's medical inspector as the result of contagious disease in the employee's immediate household.
2. The Board shall consider the application of any eligible employee for an extension of sick leave, pursuant to law, when the employee's own bank of accumulated sick leave is exhausted.
3. Twelve-month employees shall receive fifteen (15) sick leave days annually, all of which shall be accumulative. All ten-month employees shall receive twelve (12) sick leave days annually, all of which shall be accumulative.
4. Sick leave time shall only be granted in the event the employee is ill. The utilization of sick leave by an employee in the event of illness in her/his immediate family or for any other purpose other than that expressed herein is prohibited.
5. Any member who retires/dies with at least fifteen (15) years of service in the Upper Freehold Regional School District and has accumulated at least 50% of that member's sick leave at the time of retirement/death, will be compensated for the accumulated sick leave in accordance with the following formula which is based upon the years of experience in the Upper Freehold Regional School District.

a) Formula for computing the accumulated sick leave/retirement/death benefit for non-certificated staff members.
Step 1 - Ascertain number of years of service and annual salary upon retirement.
Step 2 - Using the teacher's guide for the step equal to the number of years of service of the individual retiring, locate the salary on the Bachelor's guide and that will give you the denominator of the fraction used in the calculation.
Step 3 - Use the chart* in the teacher's agreement to determine the numerator, which will be a number between $2,000 and $4,000. Divide by the teacher's salary which for the 1984-85 school year was between $14,364 and $31,598. That will yield a percent between 7.5% and 12.7%. That percentage shall be applied to the retiree's annual salary to yield retirement benefit.
Example: After 18 years of service a non-certificated employee is retiring. Her salary at the time of retirement is $14,450. Article XIV of the Teacher's contract for 15-19 years of service = $2,000. Teacher's salary at step 18 = $25,739.




2000 = 7.8%
25,739

7.8% x $14,450 = $1,127 accumulated sick leave
retirement benefit

*1986-1988
Years of Service Compensation
15 $2,000
20 $2,500
25 $3,000
26 $3,500
27 $4,000
Written notice of intent to retire must be submitted to the Superintendent's Office ninety (90) days prior to the issuance of the accumulated sick leave retirement benefit.
ARTICLE XIII
PERSONAL LEAVES OF ABSENCE

A-1. A maximum of three (3) days of absence annually may be allowed with full pay. Three (3) such days will be granted without giving reasons for same. The only exceptions shall be when a personal day is requested for a day immediately before or after a regularly scheduled holiday or when three (3) consecutive personal days are requested. On the latter two situations the days shall only be granted after approval of the administration.
A-2. Other legitimate requests for emergency leave may be approved by the Superintendent. In order to obtain such leave, the applicant shall make a request and receive approval from the Superintendent in advance. Except in cases of emergency, application for leave shall be made at least twenty-four (24) hours before the date for which the leave is requested.
A-3. Any employee who is employed for the entire school year and does not utilize any of the three (3) available personal days shall receive credit for one (1) additional sick leave day at the commencement of the following year. Personal leave is non-accumulative.
B. All employees, upon application for permission, shall be entitled to a maximum of five (5) days off with full pay in the event of each death in the immediate family. The "immediate family" shall mean father, mother, wife, husband, child, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law. All employees shall be entitled to one (1) day off with full pay in the event of each death of nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
C. Leave for illness in the family. Once personal leave is exhausted, custodial personnel would be eligible for a maximum of five (5) days leave for illness in the family at a salary reduction as noted in Schedule D
D. Unused personal days will be converted to sick days as of July/September 1st of the subsequent school year.





ARTICLE XIV
DEDUCTIONS

1. Deductions from each employee's salary shall be in accordance with New Jersey statutes for the following:

A. Pension and Annuity Funds and loan repayment;
B. Contributory Insurance;
C. Association payroll deduction;
D. Washington National Insurance.

2. The Board shall deduct from the salaries of its employees dues for the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association, the Monmouth County Education Association, New Jersey Education Association and the National Education Association, as such employees individually and voluntarily authorize the Board to deduct. Such deductions shall be made in compliance with Chapter 233, New Jersey Public Laws of 1969 (N.J.S.A. 52:14-15.9e) and under rules established by the State Department of Education. Said moneys, together with current records of any corrections shall be transmitted to such person as may from time to time be designated by the Association by the 15th of each month following the monthly pay period in which deductions were made. The person designated shall disburse such moneys to the appropriate association or associations. Each of the associations named above shall certify to the Board in writing the current rate of its membership dues. Any association which shall change the rate of its membership dues shall give the Board written notice prior to and time sufficient for effectuation of such change.

B -REPRESENTATION FEE
1. If any employee does not become a member of the Association during any school year commencing July 1 and concluding June 30, which is covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, said employee shall be required to pay a representation fee to the Association for that school year. The purpose of this fee will be to offset the employee's per capita cost of services rendered by the Association as majority representative.
2. Within ten days after the beginning of each school year, the amount of said representation fee shall be calculated by the Association pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:17-3.4 and certified to the Board by the Association, which amount shall not exceed eighty-five percent (85%) of the regular membership dues, fees and assessments charged by the union to its own membership.
3. Once during each school year covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, the Association will submit to the Board a list of those employees who have not become members of the Association for the then current school year. The Board will deduct the representation fee in equal installments, as nearly as possible, from the paycheck paid to each employee on the aforesaid list during the remainder of the membership year in question.
4. The employer shall remit the amount deducted to the Association monthly, on or before the 15th of the month following the month in which such deductions were made.
5. These deductions shall commence thirty (30) days after the beginning of employment in the unit or ten (10) days after re-entry into employment in the unit.
6. The Association shall establish and maintain at all times a demand and return system as provided by N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.5(c) and 5.6, and membership in the Association shall be available to all employees in the unit on an equal basis at all times. In the event the Association fails to maintain such a system or if membership is not so available, the employer shall immediately cease making said deductions.
7. The Association shall indemnify and hold the Board harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits and other forms of liability, including liability for reasonable counsel fees and costs and expenses, that shall arise out of, or by reason of any action taken or not taken by the Board for the purpose of complying with any of the provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE XV
FLOATING HOLIDAYS

Employees who use three (3) or fewer sick days during a given school year shall be granted one (1) floating holiday during the subsequent school year.
ARTICLE XVI
PERFECT/OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE

Employees who qualify for the district's Perfect Attendance Award for the previous year shall receive a bonus of $100.00 on October 31st.
Employees who qualify for the district's Outstanding Attendance Award for the previous year shall receive a bonus of $50.00 on October 31st.
ARTICLE XVII
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
A. Severance Clause-
Should the Board decide to privatize, pursuant to law, its non-instructional staff, there shall be certain remuneration paid as severance pay.
a. One week salary for each full year of service in the Board’s employ.
b. The Board, in it’s sole discretion, may increase the foregoing for any employee who has twenty(20) or more full years of employment with the Board.

B1. If any provisions of this Agreement or any application of this
Agreement or any application of this Agreement to any employee or group of employees is held to be contrary to law, then such provision or application shall not be deemed valid and subsisting, except to the extent permitted by law, but all other provisions or application shall continue in full force and effect.
2. Any individual contract between the Board and an individual employee theretofore or thereafter executed shall be subject to and consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. If an individual contract contains any language inconsistent with this Agreement, this Agreement, during its duration, shall be controlling.
3. There will be an emergency, 24-hour phone number, at which the Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds, can be reached in emergency situations.
4. Each member of the unit shall be provided five (5) shirts (three (3) long sleeve, two (2) short sleeve), and three (3) pair of pants. Uniforms shall be worn while on duty.
5. One (1) uniform including coveralls or jacket and gloves will be provided for the entire unit's use when working in the freezer. This uniform will be kept in the area of the freezer.
6. Each custodian following their probationary period shall receive a $50.00 work shoe allowance. Said shoes shall be worn at work
7. The district will provide two rain coats in each building for use by the custodial staff in inclement weather.
8. Children of support staff members not domiciled in the regional school district who are enrolled in the Upper Freehold Regional School District during the 1989-1990 school year shall be permitted to continue on roll without payment of tuition.(Note: reference to years deleted). Beginning with the 1990-91 school year children not heretofore enrolled shall only be enrolled without payment of tuition upon the recommendation of the Superintendent after considering the impact on the school district in terms of class size, cost, and staff workload. This restriction would not apply to support staff members employed and working prior to July 1, 1990.
ARTICLE XVIII
BOARD'S RIGHTS

The Board of Education has and hereby retains all powers, rights, authority, duties and responsibilities conferred upon and vested in it by the laws and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, including but not limited to:
(a) the selection and hiring of any and all persons who are to be employed by the Board of Education. The retention or dismissal, promotion or demotion and transfer of any person so employed shall be within the discretion of the Board of Education.
(b) the managing and administering of the school system, its property and its facilities.
The exercise of the foregoing powers, rights, authority, duties and responsibilities by the Board of Education, the adoption of policies, rules, regulations and practices in furtherance thereof, and the use of judgment and discretion in connection therewith, shall be limited only by the specific and express terms of this Agreement.

ARTICLE XIX
DURATION OF AGREEMENT

The terms of this Agreement shall be effective as of July 1, 1996 and shall remain in full force and effect until and including June 30, 1999.


1996-99 CUSTODIAL GUIDES
LICENSED DAY (3)
1996-97
1997-981998-99
A
$ 20,274
$ 21,176 $ 22,160
B
$ 21,286
$ 22,223 $ 23,245
C
$ 22,297
$ 23,267 $ 24,326
D
$ 23,308
$ 24,310 $ 25,404
E
$ 24,317
$ 25,351 $ 26,479
F
$ 25,326
$ 26,390 $ 27,551
G
$ 26,336
$ 27,428 $ 28,622
H
$ 27,340
$ 28,461 $ 29,685
I
$ 28,346
$ 29,494 $ 30,747
J
$ 29,351
$ 30,525 $ 31,807
K
$ 30,355
$ 31,554 $ 32,863
L
$ 31,358
$ 32,581 $ 33,917
M
$ 32,361
$ 33,607 $ 34,968
N
$ 33,361
$ 34,628 $ 36,014
O
$ 35,060
$ 36,375 $ 37,812
LICENSED SHIFT (3E)
A
$ 20,739
$ 21,661 $ 22,669
B
$ 21,751
$ 22,708 $ 23,752
C
$ 22,762
$ 23,752 $ 24,833
D
$ 23,772
$ 24,794 $ 25,910
E
$ 24,781
$ 25,835 $ 26,984
F
$ 25,790
$ 26,873 $ 28,055
H
$ 26,798
$ 27,910 $ 29,124
I
$ 27,805
$ 28,945 $ 30,190
J
$ 28,810
$ 29,977 $ 31,251
K
$ 29,815
$ 31,008 $ 32,310
L
$ 30,817
$ 32,035 $ 33,364
M
$ 31,820
$ 33,061 $ 34,416
N
$ 32,823
$ 34,087 $ 35,468
O
$ 33,824
$ 35,109 $ 36,513
UNLICENSED DAY (4)
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
A
$ 17,123
$ 17,989
$ 18,870
B
$ 18,143
$ 19,052
$ 19,975
C
$ 19,162
$ 20,112
$ 21,077
D
$ 20,181
$ 21,171
$ 22,176
E
$ 21,197
$ 22,226
$ 23,270
F
$ 22,213
$ 23,281
$ 24,363
H
$ 23,228
$ 24,333
$ 25,452
I
$ 24,242
$ 25,384
$ 26,538
J
$ 25,258
$ 26,434
$ 27,623
K
$ 26,270
$ 27,481
$ 28,703
L
$ 27,282
$ 28,525
$ 29,779
M
$ 27,983
$ 29,244
$ 30,516
N
$ 29,300
$ 30,606
$ 31,922
O
$ 30,310
$ 31,646
$ 32,990
UNLICENSED SHIFT (4E)
A
$ 17,593
$ 18,483
$ 19,388
B
$ 18,612
$ 19,544
$ 20,491
C
$ 19,630
$ 20,603
$ 21,591
D
$ 20,647
$ 21,660
$ 22,688
E
$ 21,662
$ 22,715
$ 23,782
F
$ 22,681
$ 23,771
$ 24,876
H
$ 23,695
$ 24,822
$ 25,963
I
$ 24,709
$ 25,872
$ 27,048
J
$ 25,723
$ 26,921
$ 28,132
K
$ 26,735
$ 27,967
$ 29,211
L
$ 27,747
$ 29,012
$ 30,287
M
$ 28,758
$ 30,055
$ 31,361
N
$ 29,802
$ 31,130
$ 32,468
O
$ 30,773
$ 32,130
$ 33,495
13
Assistants’
SECRETARIES


TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLE I RECOGNITION 2

ARTICLE II ENTIRE AGREEMENT/NEGOTIATIONS 2

ARTICLE III GRIEVANCE 2

ARTICLE IV HOURS OF WORK 4

ARTICLE V SICK LEAVE 4

ARTICLE VI PERSONAL LEAVE 6

ARTICLE VII CALENDAR 6

ARTICLE VIII VACATIONS 7

ARTICLE IX SALARIES 7

ARTICLE X INSURANCE 7

ARTICLE XI DEDUCTIONS FROM SALARY 8

ARTICLE XII PROMOTION 9

ARTICLE XIII EVALUATION 10

ARTICLE XIV VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS 10

ARTICLE XV CHILDREN OF SUPPORT STAFF 10

ARTICLE XVI PERFECT/OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE 10

ARTICLE XVII ADMINISTRATION OF CONTRACT 11

ARTICLE XVIII DURATION OF AGREEMENT 11

SALARY CHARTS 11

ARTICLE I
RECOGNITION

A. Pursuant to Chapter 123, P.L. 1974, State of New Jersey, the Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education hereby recognizes the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association as the exclusive and sole representative for the purpose of collective negotiations concerning grievances and terms and conditions of employment for all secretarial personnel excluding: All regularly employed secretarial employees in the district's administration offices.
B. Unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, the personnel included in this unit agreement described above shall hereinafter be referred to as employees.
ARTICLE II
ENTIRE AGREEMENT - NEGOTIATIONS PROCEDURE

A. During the term of this Agreement, neither party shall be required to negotiate with respect to any matter whether or not covered by this Agreement and whether or not within the knowledge or contemplation of either or both of the parties at the time they negotiated or executed this Agreement.
B. In the event that the parties mutually agree to alter, amend or supplement this Agreement, the terms of any subsequent Agreement shall be reduced to writing, signed by the parties hereto, ratified by the secretarial employees and adopted by the Board. The terms hereof shall not be otherwise changed, modified or amended.
C. In accordance with the provisions of Chapter 123, Public Laws of 1973 of the State of New Jersey, the parties agree to commence negotiations for the successor agreement not later than September 30, 1996.
D. Neither party in any negotiations shall have any control over the selection of the negotiating representative of the other party.
E. The Board agrees that during the term hereof, it will not negotiate concerning the employees in the bargaining unit defined in Article I with any other organization other than the Association.
ARTICLE III
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A. Definitions
1. A grievance shall mean an alleged violation, interpretation or application of any provision of this Agreement or an alleged violation, interpretation or application of any policies or administrative decisions affecting terms and conditions of employment.
2. A grievant is the person or persons alleging said violation.
3. An employee shall mean any secretarial employee.
4. An immediate supervisor shall mean that member of Administration to whom the employee normally reports, or his designee.





B. Grievance Procedure
1. When an employee believes they have been aggrieved, she may present a grievance either orally or in writing to their immediate supervisor. All grievances shall be presented not later than twenty (20) calendar days following the occurrence which is the basis for the grievance.
2. A reply to the grievance shall be received not later than twenty (20) calendar days following the presentation of the grievance.
3. Should a grievant be dissatisfied with the reply to the grievance at the initial step of the procedure, the member may request that the grievance be reviewed by the Superintendent. The grievant's request shall be made in writing no later than seven (7) calendar days following the reply to the grievance at the step below. The grievant shall be required to provide in writing the basis for the grievance at the time the member requests a review of the grievance by the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall reply to the grievance no later than seven (7) calendar days following this review.
4. Should a grievant be dissatisfied with the reply to the grievance given by the Superintendent, the grievant may request that the grievance be reviewed by the Board. The grievant shall be required to notify the Board in writing not later than five (5) calendar days following the reply given by the Superintendent of any desire to have the grievance reviewed. Upon being notified of the grievant's intention, the Board shall schedule a hearing date, if so required, for the grievance not later than twenty (20 calendar days following the hearing of the grievance. The word "Board" as used in this paragraph, shall mean a committee of the Board made up of members of the Board which the Board so designates.
5. Should the Association be dissatisfied with the determination rendered by the Board, it may submit the grievance to advisory arbitration within fifteen (15) calendar days following the determination of the Board. A request for a list of arbitrators shall be made to the American Arbitration Association by either party. The parties shall be bound by the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association in the selection of an arbitrator.
6. In the event of arbitration, the costs of the arbitrator's services shall be shared equally by the parties and each of the parties shall bear their own costs.
7. All hearings under this procedure shall be conducted in private and shall include only persons directly concerned and their designated or selected representatives.
8. The arbitrator shall limit all decisions strictly to the alleged violation, application and interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement and shall be without power or authority to make any decisions.
(a) Contrary to, or inconsistent with, or modifying or varying in any way, the terms of this agreement, or of applicable law or rules or regulations having the force and effect of law.
(b) Involving Board policy or practice under the provisions of this Agreement, or under applicable law; except that he may decide in a particular case that the Board policy, practice or administrative decision was disregarded or that its attempted application under any term of this Agreement was so discriminatory, arbitrary or capricious to constitute an abuse of discretion.
(c) Limiting or interfering in any way with the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Board under applicable law, and rules and regulations having the force and effect of law.




C. Miscellaneous
The time limits set forth in the foregoing procedures shall be considered maximum time limits. Failure of the grievant to proceed within the time limits set forth shall constitute an abandonment of the grievance. Failure at any step of the procedure by one charged with rendering a decision within the time limits set forth shall be tantamount to permitting the grievant to proceed to the next step outlined in the foregoing procedure.
ARTICLE IV
HOURS OF WORK

A. Subject to the provisions below, all full-time secretarial personnel shall work eight (8) hours per day, inclusive of one-half hour duty-free lunch period. The parties agree that there is a need for flexibility in scheduling the hours in the work day. Accordingly, Building Principals in their discretion, may schedule the eight-hour work day between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., or 7:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., or 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
B. The work day on Friday and days preceding holidays shall be one-half hour shorter except during the summer period when the work day is shortened.
C. The work day during the summer period shall commence at 8:00 a.m. and conclude at 3:00 p.m., inclusive of one-half hour duty-free lunch period. The summer period is defined as commencing on July 1st and concluding on September 1st.
D. All half-time secretarial personnel shall work four (4) hours per day. The working hours for said half-time personnel shall be scheduled by the Building Principal of all building personnel and by the Superintendent of Schools for all other personnel. Any half-time personnel required to work a full day shall receive a half-hour duty free lunch period.
E. Employees in the unit shall not be required to work on days which the schools are closed due to inclement weather. When school is dismissed early due to inclement weather, all secretaries, except the high school principal’s secretary and the elementary principal's secretary, may leave when the teachers leave(i.e. 20 minutes after the students). The principals' secretaries shall remain 30 minutes longer.
F. Employees in the unit shall be entitled to one uninterrupted rest period of fifteen (15) minutes during the morning and one uninterrupted rest period of fifteen (15) minutes during the afternoon, at such times as shall be mutually agreed upon by the employee and the immediate supervisor.
G. Compensatory time shall be handled at the building level whereby the building head will be responsible for processing applications in connection with same and communicating decisions to the employee involved.
ARTICLE V
SICK LEAVE

A. All twelve-month employees shall be allowed, without deduction from salary, fifteen (15) sick days leave per year.
B. All ten-month employees shall be allowed, without deduction from salary, twelve (12) sick days per year.



C. The aforementioned sick leave is cumulative. The total number of days of sick leave that may be used by an employee in any one year shall be the current annual sick leave allowance of twelve (12) or fifteen (15) days, as the case may be, plus the accumulated reserve.
D. No employee shall accumulate any sick leave while on an authorized leave of absence.
E. Sick leave time shall only be granted in the event the employee is ill. The utilization of sick leave by an employee in the event of illness in her immediate family or for any other purpose other than that expressed herein is prohibited.
F. Any member who retires/dies with at least fifteen (15) years of service in the Upper Freehold Regional School District and has accumulated at least 50% of his/her sick leave at the time of retirement/death, will be compensated for the accumulated sick leave in accordance with the following formula which is based upon the years of experience in the Upper Freehold Regional School District.
Formula for computing the accumulated sick leave/retirement/death benefit for non-certificated staff members.
Step 1 Ascertain number of years of service and annual salary upon retirement
Step 2 Using the teacher's guide for the step equal to the number of years of service of the individual retiring, locate the salary on the Bachelor's guide and that will give you the denominator of the fraction used in the calculation.
Step 3 Using the chart* in the teacher's agreement to determine the numerator, which will be a number between $2,000 and $4,000. Divide by the teacher's salary which for the 1984-85 school year was between $14,364 and $31,598. That will yield a percent between 7.5% and 12.7%. That percentage shall be applied to the retiree's annual salary to yield retirement benefit.

Example After 18 years of service a non-certificated employee is retiring. Her salary at the time of retirement is $14,450. Article XIV of the teachers' contract for 15-19 years of service = $2,000. Teacher's salary at step 18 = $25,739.

2000
25,739 = 7.8%

7.8% x $14,450 = $1,127 accumulated sick leave retirement benefit.



Years of Service Compensation
15 $2,000
20 2,500
25 3,000
30 3,500
35 4,000
Written notice of intent to retire must be submitted to the Superintendent's Office ninety (90) days prior to the issuance of the accumulated sick leave retirement benefit.



ARTICLE VI
PERSONAL LEAVES OF ABSENCE

A-1. A maximum of three (3) days of absence annually may be allowed with full pay. Such days will be granted without a reason being expressed by the application other than the day is being taken pursuant to this section. In no event will approval for any of the three (3) days' absence be automatically granted immediately before or immediately after a holiday or vacation or when three (3) consecutive personal days are requested. In the latter two situations the days shall only be granted after approval of the administration.
A-2. Other legitimate requests for emergency leave may be approved by the Superintendent. In order to obtain such leave, the applicant shall make a request and receive approval from the Superintendent in advance. Except in cases of emergency, application for leave shall be made at least twenty-four (24) hours before the date for which the leave is requested.
Any employee who is employed for the entire school year and does not utilize any of the three (3) available personal days shall receive credit for one (1) additional sick leave day at the commencement of the following year. Personal leave is non-accumulative.
B. The number of school days, not to exceed five (5), will be allowed without loss of pay in the event of each death in the immediate family. The term immediate family shall be understood to include only the following: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Father-in-law, Mother, Mother-in-law, Husband, Wife, Child, Brother, Sister. An allowance of one (1) day per year in case of the death of a relative not heretofore mentioned will be granted.
C. Leave for illness in the family. Once personal leave is exhausted, secretaries would be eligible for a maximum of five (5) days leave for illness in the family at a salary reduction of $18.25 per day.
D. Unused personal days will be converted to sick days as of July/September 1st of the subsequent school year.
ARTICLE VII
CALENDAR

A. The work year for all ten-month employees shall commence on September 1 and conclude on June 30.
The calendar shall not in any way affect school calendar holidays now enjoyed by the ten-month employees(Defined as the same holidays as the teaching staff).
B. All twelve-month employees shall work the "school calendar" as set by the Board of Education while school is in session. Following the termination of the school year, all twelve-month employees shall work Monday through Friday, with the exception of those days established as holidays in N.J.S.A. 36:1-1.







ARTICLE VIII
VACATIONS

A. Vacation time will be granted for all members of the unit as follows:
(a) Employment for one year or more - ten (10) working days.
(b) Employment for less than one year shall carry an entitlement of one (1) working day for each month employed and the restriction that no vacation may be taken unless employment has been for a minimum of two (2) months.

ARTICLE IX
SALARIES

A. The Board shall pay salaries in accordance with the salary schedules attached hereto and made a part hereof.
B. The Board reserves the right to withhold an increment for just cause.
C. The Board retains the authority to specify the salary of new positions and to determine the credit to be awarded for placement on any existing salary guide.
D. In order to advance one step on a salary guide, an employee must have served at least one-half of the prior fiscal year with the district.
E. Severance Clause-
Should the Board decide to privatize, pursuant to law, its non-instructional staff, there shall be certain remuneration paid as severance pay.
a. One week salary for each full year of service in the Board’s employ.
b. The Board, in it’s sole discretion, may increase the foregoing for any employee who has twenty(20) or more full years of employment with the Board.

ARTICLE X

INSURANCE PROTECTION

1- The Board of Education shall provide health coverage for both employee and dependents where applicable with the said carrier. The carrier will be Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of New Jersey. The coverage provided will be equal to or better than the existing coverage provided by the State Health Benefits Program covering State employees. A copy of coverage will be provided for each employee.

2. Dental and Prescription Insurance will be Board paid as follows:
Dental coverage will be carried under the Delta Dental Insurance terms in effect during the 1998-99 contract year at a co-pay rate of 80/20.
Prescription co-pay will be: $ 0.00 for mail prescriptions, $ 5.00 for generic prescriptions and $10.00 for name brand prescriptions.

Coverage for each member of the unit shall commence only after individual members make application for said coverage and execute the necessary enrollment card. The administration of the aforementioned plan shall be controlled by the underwriter in accordance with its rules and regulations.
At the commencement of the 1994-95 contract year, any employee who elects to waive medical benefits will receive in lieu thereof the following cash payments:
Single $1,000
Parent/child $1,250
Husband/ Wife $1,750
Family $2,000

At the same point in time, any employee who elects to waive dental or prescription benefits will receive in lieu thereof the following cash payments:
Dental $ 100
Prescription $ 200

The Board will make application for IRS approval to ensure that those employees who do not opt out of the Health Insurance Plan will not have the insurance costs taxed as income in accordance with Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Support staff employed 30 hours or more of a regular full time assignment will be eligible for coverage.
All new hires, commencing with the 1997-98 school year, will receive single health insurance coverage. Such individuals shall have the option to purchase, at their own expense, coverage in addition to their individual coverage. All full time, tenure eligible employees and those meeting the requirements in Paragraph above, shall receive full health insurance (husband/wife, parent/child, family, whichever is applicable)after having worked 3 years in the district..

ARTICLE XI
DEDUCTIONS FROM SALARY

A- Payroll and dues Deductions
The Board agrees to deduct from the salary of its employees dues for the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association and the New Jersey Education Association. Such deductions shall be made in compliance with Chapter 233, New Jersey Public Laws of 1969 (N.J.S. 52:14-15.9(e)), and under rules established by the State Department of Education. Said moneys together with current records of any corrections shall be transmitted to such person as may from time to time be designated by the Association. Such transmittal shall be made by the 15th of each month following the monthly pay period in which deductions were made.


B -REPRESENTATION FEE
1. If any employee does not become a member of the Association during any school year commencing July 1 and concluding June 30, which is covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, said employee shall be required to pay a representation fee to the Association for that school year. The purpose of this fee will be to offset the employee's per capita cost of services rendered by the Association as majority representative.
2. Within ten days after the beginning of each school year, the amount of said representation fee shall be calculated by the Association pursuant to N.J.A.C. 19:17-3.4 and certified to the Board by the Association, which amount shall not exceed eighty-five percent (85%) of the regular membership dues, fees and assessments charged by the union to its own membership.
3. Once during each school year covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, the Association will submit to the Board a list of those employees who have not become members of the Association for the then current school year. The Board will deduct the representation fee in equal installments, as nearly as possible, from the paycheck paid to each employee on the aforesaid list during the remainder of the membership year in question.
4. The employer shall remit the amount deducted to the Association monthly, on or before the 15th of the month following the month in which such deductions were made.
5. These deductions shall commence thirty (30) days after the beginning of employment in the unit or ten (10) days after re-entry into employment in the unit.
6. The Association shall establish and maintain at all times a demand and return system as provided by N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.5(c) and 5.6, and membership in the Association shall be available to all employees in the unit on an equal basis at all times. In the event the Association fails to maintain such a system or if membership is not so available, the employer shall immediately cease making said deductions.
7. The Association shall indemnify and hold the Board harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits and other forms of liability, including liability for reasonable counsel fees and costs and expenses, that shall arise out of, or by reason of any action taken or not taken by the Board for the purpose of complying with any of the provisions of this Article.

ARTICLE XII
PROMOTIONS

Promotions shall be made at the sole discretion of the Superintendent of Schools.

ARTICLE XIII
EMPLOYEE EVALUATION
Employees shall have opportunities to confer with their immediate supervisors for the purposes of identifying strengths, weaknesses and discussing ways and means to improve overall performance. These conferences shall include written evaluation reports, and shall be scheduled by the supervisor and/or principal at least once in each contract year before April 1st. Employees shall be given copies of the evaluation report and shall be requested to sign it at the completion of the conference. Opportunity shall be given to the employee to file a written response. The response and the evaluation shall be forwarded to the Superintendent and shall be filed in the central personnel file.
ARTICLE XIV
VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS

A. In the event that a vacancy occurs in any unit position, the Superintendent shall, within a reasonable time thereafter, notify the Association thereof and post notice of the vacancy on the bulletin board in the main office of each school.
B. Any employee in the unit who desires to transfer to another building may file a written statement of request to do so with the Superintendent, including the positions and the location to which transfer is desired.
C. In the review of requests for voluntary transfer, the Board shall retain unilaterally the right to dispose of any such request as it sees fit.

ARTICLE XV
CHILDREN OF SUPPORT STAFF

Children of Support Staff Members not domiciled in the regional school district who are enrolled in the Upper Freehold Regional School District shall be permitted to continue on roll without payment of tuition in. Beginning with the 1990-91 school year children not heretofore enrolled shall only be enrolled without payment of tuition upon the recommendation of the Superintendent after considering impact of the school district in terms of class size, cost, and staff workload. This restriction would not apply to support staff members employed and working prior to July 1, 1990.
ARTICLE XVI
PERFECT/OUTSTANDING ATTENDANCE

Employees who qualify for the district's Perfect Attendance Award for the previous year shall receive a bonus of $100.00 on October 31st.
Employees who qualify for the district's Outstanding Attendance Award for the previous year shall receive a bonus of $50.00 on October 31st.

ARTICLE XVII
ADMINISTRATION OF CONTRACT

A. If any provisions of this Agreement or any application of the Agreement to any employee or group of employees is held to be contrary to law, then such provision or application shall not be deemed valid and subsisting, except to the extent permitted by law; but all other provisions or applications shall continue in full force and effect.
B. Any individual employment contract issued to a member of the bargaining unit shall be subject to the provisions hereof as to salary and the terms and conditions of employment.
C. Whenever any notice is required to be given by either of the parties to this Agreement to the other, pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, either party shall do so by certified letter at the following addresses:

1. If by the Association, to the Board at:
Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education
27 High Street
Allentown, New Jersey 08501

2. If by the Board, to the Association at:
President, Upper Freehold Regional Education
Association
Home Address (to be advised)

10 Month Secretaries
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
1st split
2nd split
1st split
2nd split
X
16,091
16,573
17,120
17,514 18,346
Y
16,990
17,500
18,077
18,493 19,372
Z
17,489
18,014
18,608
19,036 19,941
A
17,995
18,535
19,147
19,587 20,517
B
19,038
19,609
20,256
20,722 21,706
C
20,081
20,684
21,366
21,858 22,896
D
21,124
21,758
22,476
22,993 24,085
E
22,165
22,830
23,584
24,126 25,272
F
23,212
23,909
24,698
25,266 26,466
G
24,254
24,981
25,806
26,399 27,653
H
25,455
26,219
27,084
27,707 29,023
I
26,674
27,475
28,381
29,034 30,413
J
27,733
28,565
29,507
30,186 31,620
K
28,789
29,652
30,631
31,335 32,824
L
29,843
30,738
31,753
32,483 34,026
M
30,899
31,826
32,876
33,632 35,230
N
31,957
32,916
34,002
34,784 36,436
O
33,013
34,003
35,126
35,933 37,640
P
34,069
35,091
36,249
37,083 38,844
Q
35,124
36,177
37,371
38,231 40,047
R
36,181
37,266
38,496
39,381 41,252
S
37,236
38,354
39,619
40,530 42,456
T
38,118
39,261
40,557
41,490 43,461


12 month Secretaries
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
1st split
2nd split
1st split
2nd split
X
16,091 16,573 17,120 17,514 18,346
Y
17,071 17,584 18,164 18,582 19,464
Z
19,241 19,818 20,472 20,943 21,938
A
19,689 20,279 20,949 21,430 22,448
B
21,696 22,347 23,084 23,615 24,737
C
23,702 24,413 25,219 25,799 27,024
D
24,933 25,681 26,528 27,139 28,428
E
26,162 26,947 27,836 28,476 29,829
F
27,393 28,215 29,146 29,816 31,233
G
28,623 29,482 30,455 31,155 32,635
H
30,061 30,963 31,985 32,720 34,274
I
31,523 32,469 33,540 34,311 35,941
J
32,772 33,755 34,869 35,671 37,365
K
34,018 35,038 36,195 37,027 38,786
L
35,267 36,325 37,523 38,386 40,210
M
36,512 37,607 38,848 39,741 41,629
N
37,761 38,894 40,178 41,102 43,054
O
39,008 40,178 41,504 42,458 44,475
P
40,260 41,468 42,836 43,821 45,903
Q
41,509 42,754 44,165 45,181 47,327
R
42,759 44,041 45,495 46,541 48,752
S
44,006 45,326 46,822 47,899 50,174
T
45,805 47,179 48,736 49,857 52,225














ARTICLE XVIII
DURATION OF AGREEMENT

The terms of this Agreement shall be effective as of July 1, 2002 and shall remain in full force and effect until and including June 30, 2005.

Other than the changes enumerated above, all provisions of the present contract between the Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education and the Upper Freehold Regional Education Association shall remain in force and are hereby incorporated into this agreement for the 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05 school years.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective Presidents, attested to by their respective secretaries, and their corporate seals placed thereon.





For the Upper Freehold For the Upper Freehold
Regional Education Association Regional Board of Education





Date Chairperson of the Date Chairperson of the
Negotiating Committee Negotiating Committee





Date President Date President

























Instructional Assistants
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
1st split
2nd split
1st split
2nd split
X
16,091 16,573 17,120 17,514 18,346
Y
16,507 17,003 17,564 17,968 18,821
Z
16,969 17,478 18,055 18,470 19,347
A
17,421 17,944 18,536 18,962 19,863
B
18,303 18,852 19,474 19,922 20,868
C
19,444 20,027 20,688 21,164 22,169
D
20,357 20,967 21,659 22,157 23,210
E
21,268 21,906 22,629 23,150 24,249
F
22,180 22,845 23,599 24,142 25,289
G
23,088 23,781 24,566 25,131 26,324
H
23,994 24,714 25,529 26,116 27,357
I
24,900 25,647 26,493 27,102 28,390
J
25,807 26,581 27,458 28,090 29,424
K
26,709 27,510 28,418 29,072 30,452
L
27,611 28,439 29,378 30,053 31,481
M
28,512 29,367 30,336 31,034 32,508
N
29,409 30,292 31,291 32,011 33,531
O
30,322 31,232 32,263 33,005 34,572
12 Assistants’
Technology Index 0 – 1 ½ years = 1.0
1 ½ - 3 years = 1.1
3 years = 1.2
13
Secretarial








Upper Freehold Reg BE and Upper Freehold Reg EA 2002.pdf