PREAMBLE 1

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214009" I RECOGNITION PAGEREF _Toc133214009 \h 1

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214010" II NEGOTIATIONS PROCEDURE PAGEREF _Toc133214010 \h 2

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214011" III GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE PAGEREF _Toc133214011 \h 2

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214012" IV TEACHER RIGHTS PAGEREF _Toc133214012 \h 4

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214013" V BOARD RIGHTS PAGEREF _Toc133214013 \h 5

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214014" VI ASSOCIATION RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES PAGEREF _Toc133214014 \h 6

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214015" VII LENGTH OF SCHOOL YEAR PAGEREF _Toc133214015 \h 7

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214016" VIII TEACHING HOURS AND TEACHING LOAD PAGEREF _Toc133214016 \h 7

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214017" IX TEACHER ASSIGNMENT PAGEREF _Toc133214017 \h 10

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214018" X TEACHER EVALUATION PAGEREF _Toc133214018 \h 10

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214019" XI TEMPORARY LEAVES OF ABSENCE PAGEREF _Toc133214019 \h 10

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214020" XII SICK LEAVE PAGEREF _Toc133214020 \h 12

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214021" XIII MATERNITY LEAVE PAGEREF _Toc133214021 \h 13

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214022" XIV INSURANCE PROTECTION PAGEREF _Toc133214022 \h 14

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214023" XV SALARIES AND OTHER COMPENSATION PAGEREF _Toc133214023 \h 15

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214024" XVI REPRESENTATION FEE PAGEREF _Toc133214024 \h 18

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214025" XVII TUITION REIMBURSEMENT PAGEREF _Toc133214025 \h 20

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214026" XVIII MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS PAGEREF _Toc133214026 \h 22

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214027" XIX TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES PAGEREF _Toc133214027 \h 22

HYPERLINK \l "_Toc133214028" XX DURATION OF AGREEMENT PAGEREF _Toc133214028 \h 23

APPENDIX
Schedule A
Schedule B
{00259366; 1}

Substitute teachers and substitute nurses;

Custodial and maintenance employees;

Lunchroom/classroom aides;

Secretaries and clerks;

Principals;

Board Secretary/Business Administrator;

Supervisor of Special Services; and

Technology Coordinator.

Salaries are to be pro-rated for time worked, but paid in accordance with the salary guide;

Employees who work less than 20 hours per week are not covered by contractual insurance benefits; and

Hours are to be set by the Board of Education within the contractual workday.

References to male teachers shall include female teachers, unless specifically noted otherwise. Any reference to gender shall be construed to apply equally to persons of either gender, unless specifically noted otherwise.

Both the Board and the Association committees shall be empowered to negotiate in good faith and reach conclusions on terms and conditions of employment. Final conclusions shall be submitted for ratification and approval to the entire Board and Association.

All agreements shall be reduced to writing in contractual form and presented to the negotiating committees of the Board and the Association for preliminary approval. After agreements have been preliminarily approved by both negotiating teams, the agreements shall be submitted as a package to the Board and the Association for final approval.

The Board and the Association agree to meet as frequently as may be necessary at mutually agreeable times and places to be determined by respective chairpersons in an effort to reach agreement on terms and conditions of employment.

The Board and the Association agree to present full sets of initial bargaining proposals on all language issues to each other at the first session of each round of negotiations. Salary proposals may be submitted at a later date.

An aggrieved employee, or group of employees, or the Association, shall institute action under D.1. within twenty (20) school days of the occurrence complained of. Failure to act within said twenty (20) school days shall be deemed to constitute an abandonment of the grievance.

In the presentation of a grievance the employee shall have the right to present his own appeal or to designate a representative to appear with him at any step in his appeal. A minority organization shall not have the right to present or process a grievance.

Steps of the grievance procedure -- the following constitutes the sole and exclusive methods through administrative procedures for resolving grievance between the parties covered by this Agreement.

A grievance shall be discussed first with the principal or appropriate superior in its informal stage. If, as a result of the discussion, no action is taken within five (5) school days or if the appropriate superior indicates that no action will be taken to satisfy the aggrieved's complaint, then the aggrieved will set forth the grievance, in writing, and request that within five (5) school days a written response be forthcoming giving the reasons for not satisfying his complaint.

the name of the grievant or grievants;

the specific contract clause or Board policy alleged to have been violated;

the facts giving rise to the grievance, including the date of the incident giving rise to the grievance; and

the remedy sought.

Within five (5) school days of receiving the written response required in D. 1., the aggrieved may appeal the decision to the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall meet with the aggrieved and respond within five (5) school days, in writing, to the aggrieved's complaint.

a. If the aggrieved is not satisfied with the Superintendent's response he/she shall file, within five (5) school days of receiving the response, a written appeal to the Board of Education.

The Board will issue a written response to the grievance within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving the appeal. The Board at its option may hold a hearing with the grievant during this period of time.

If the response from the Board is not satisfactory, or if the Board shall affirm the decision of the Superintendent of Schools by refusing to hold a grievance hearing, the aggrieved may, if supported by the Association, or on his own, within fifteen (15) calendar days notify the Board that he is requesting arbitration of the grievance.

The following procedure will be used for the securing of an arbitrator and processing of the grievance.

A request will be made to the Public Employment Relations Commission (P.E.R.C.) for a list of arbitrators. The parties shall be bound by the rules and procedures of P.E.R.C. in the selection of the arbitrator.

The parties and the arbitrator shall follow the procedures and the rules of P.E.R.C. during the hearing; however, prior to rendering his final decision, the arbitrator shall be free to offer suggestions and opinion concerning ways to resolve the dispute.

The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the parties.

The arbitrator shall limit himself to the issues submitted to him and consider nothing else. He can add nothing to, nor subtract anything from the Contract between the Board and the Association.

The costs for 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 shall be paid by the party incurring the same.

Form for filing grievance shall be in accordance with Schedule B of the Agreement.

Whenever any teacher is required to appear before the Board or any committee or member thereof, or the Superintendent of Schools or any other administrative officer in any matter that will adversely affect his/her continuation in his/her office, position or employment or his/her salary or any increment pertaining thereto, he/she shall have the right to have an Association representative of his/her choice present to advise and/or represent him/her during such meeting or interview.

The teacher shall be given advanced written notice of the reason(s) for the meeting or interview, with a reasonable amount of time allowed for him/her to arrange for representation.

1. The only official personnel files for the district shall be those kept in the office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Any teacher shall have the right to review his/her personnel file upon two school day's written notice to the Superintendent. Such review shall occur in the presence of the Superintendent or his designee.

The teacher shall be entitled to indicate materials which are obsolete or inapplicable and to request to have them deleted from the files.

The teacher may have copies made of any materials in his/her file at a cost of ten cents ($.10) per copy.

No correspondence about any teacher shall be placed in files unless a dated copy has been given to the teacher and he/she has been given the opportunity to attach a written response. Any such response must be submitted within five (5) school days of the day the teacher received his/her copy.

The Board shall make available in Lincoln School a telephone in a private place where teachers can make telephone calls for school and personal purposes. Personal calls shall be at the expense of the teacher except calls to the teacher's spouse. A written procedure shall be adopted between the Association and the Board to deal with the telephone.

Whenever any representative of the Association or any employee is mutually scheduled by the parties to participate during working hours in negotiations, grievance proceedings, conferences or meetings, he/she shall suffer no loss of pay.

The Association and its representatives shall be permitted to transact official Association business on school property and hold meetings at all reasonable times, provided that this shall not interfere with or interrupt normal school operations; and provided further that advanced approval is received from the Superintendent. Such approval shall not be unreasonably denied.

1. The Association shall have the privilege to use any school equipment normally used by teachers at all reasonable times when such equipment is not otherwise in use, provided that this shall not interfere with or interrupt normal school operations, and provided further that the principal will be notified in advance. The Association shall pay for the cost of all materials and supplies incident to such use and assume liability for any damage to any equipment occurring during such use.

Materials of a political nature and materials intended for dissemination to persons not in the bargaining unit are excluded from this paragraph.

The Association shall have the right to use the inter-school mail facilities and school mailboxes as it deems necessary.

The rights and privileges of the Association and its representatives as set forth in this Agreement are intended to be granted only to the Association as the exclusive representative of the employees, and are not intended to create the rights and privileges in any other employee organization.

The President of the Association shall be granted two days per school year to conduct Association business.

The day prior to the commencement of the pupil’s school year and day following the termination of the pupil’s school year will be used for teacher preparations for student arrival, classroom set up, and teacher preparations for student dismissal.

For the purposes of performing a.m. supervisory duties the Board retains the right to assign different starting and ending times for up to nine members at Lincoln-Franklin School and up to four members at Washington School per marking period; not to deviate by more than 25 minutes from the regular starting and ending times, and in no case shall their regular work day exceed seven hours. If aides are available at Washington School teachers shall not be so assigned. Some of the nine members of the bargaining unit may be assigned to teach ESL/ ELS or BSI for 30 minutes. Procedures for the assignment of staff to these alternate starting and ending times shall be developed mutually by the administration and the Association. In the event a teacher is assigned a starting and/or ending time which requires the teacher to work more than 7 hours on a given day, the teacher will be given release time to the extent of the time worked in excess of 7 hours on a given day. If a teacher has been assigned a duty which the teacher believes has required the teacher to work more than 7 hours on a given day, the teacher shall notify the Superintendent within five working days of such fact. The release time will be assigned by the administration after the teacher and the teacher's principal have discussed the time when the release time will be given. The release time will be assigned within 20 school days of the day on which the teacher worked more than 7 hours. If such release time is not given to the teacher within said 20 school days, the teacher shall be entitled to be compensated at the rate of $35.00 per hour. Such compensation shall be paid to the teacher not later than the second scheduled pay period after the time for payment accrues. Part-time teachers assigned a starting and/or ending time which requires them to work more than their assigned hours shall be remunerated on a pro-rated basis. Teachers whose starting and ending times are to be changed shall receive 30 days notification prior to the change.

If any teacher loses his/her minimum number of nonteaching periods per week, the teacher shall be paid $46.69 in school year 2005-2006, $48.79 per hour in school year 2006-2007 and $50.98 in school year 2007-2008 for each occurrence.

Teachers may be required to remain after the end of the regular workday, without additional compensation, for the purpose of attending no more than two (2) faculty or other professional meetings each Thursday of the month. Such meetings shall commence not later than ten minutes after the latest student dismissal time, as long as at least 90% of those staff members at work, and required to attend the meeting, are in attendance and the meetings shall run for not more than 60 minutes subject to the following exceptions:

The administration shall have the right to delay the commencement of a meeting only if ninety (90%) percent* of the teachers who are at work the day of the meeting and are required to be at that meeting are not present. If additional time is needed students shall be dismissed early. Teachers may be excused from faculty or other professional meetings subject to administrative approval.

Teachers shall be required to attend one "Back to School Night" sometime in the fall, the date to be determined by the Superintendent and the Association to acquaint parents with their child's program for the new school year. This meeting shall not extend for more than three hours or beyond 10:00 P.M. Teachers may also be assigned without additional compensation to one evening parent conference. The evening for parent conferences shall not extend beyond three hours or beyond 9:00 p.m. Teachers will not be required to attend a faculty or other professional meeting on the day the evening parent conference is scheduled. Teachers may be required to work additional evenings to chaperone special events and will be paid $62.25 per event in school year 2005-2006, $65.05 per event in school year 2006-2007, and $67.98 per event in school year 2007-2008.

It is recognized that curriculum writing will be done by a teacher specifically employed or stipended for such purpose, but teachers will be asked to discuss and give input to the curriculum writer orally or by notation at meetings at which curriculum is discussed.

Child study team members and guidance counselors may be assigned to any and all duties to which other teachers are assigned. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article VIII to the contrary, child study team members and guidance counselors shall not be entitled to scheduled non-teaching periods.

On days when students are dismissed early for holidays teachers shall be able to leave immediately after the students.

Homeroom teachers at Lincoln-Franklin Schools shall not be assigned a.m. or p.m. duties. Homeroom teachers at Washington School shall not be assigned a.m. or p.m. duties if aides are available.

Teachers who are assigned to more than one building will be provided with twenty (20) minutes of travel time.

* If the method of determining the 90% attendance by the teachers at a faculty or other professional meeting shall result in a conflict, the parties to this contract may meet to resolve the dispute.

A thirty (30) calendar day prior notice shall be given to any teacher to be involved in a reassignment or involuntary transfer that occurs after the opening of the school year.

In exceptional cases where the Administration must make a change in assignment with less than thirty (30) calendar days prior to notice to the teacher, the Superintendent or his designee will meet with the affected employee to explain why the reassignment must be effective in less than thirty (30) calendar days.

If possible, teachers will not be required to prepare for more than 5 subjects for each school day.

No material related to a teacher's conduct, service, character, or personality shall be placed in a teacher's personnel file unless the teacher has had an opportunity to review the material. The teacher shall acknowledge that he had the opportunity to review such material by affixing his signature to copy to be filed with the express understanding that such signature in no way indicates agreement with the contents thereof. The teacher shall also have the right to submit a written answer to such material within ten (10) school days and his answer shall be reviewed by the Superintendent or his designee and attached to the file copy.

Nothing contained herein shall be construed to detract from the Board's right to re-employ or not re-employ a nontenured teacher in accordance with the law.

a. At the discretion of the Superintendent, a teacher may receive not more than three (3) days off with pay during any school year for personal reasons, including religious holidays, and to take care of personal business which cannot be taken care of during the school day. Personal days may only be taken as full days. A teacher need not submit the reason for the requested personal days to the Superintendent. Under no circumstances will a teacher be permitted personal leave in order to hold another position with pay. These personal days will not be approved for days immediately preceding or following a school observed holiday or vacation; except, where the Superintendent, in his sole discretion shall determine that the teacher demonstrates an extenuating situation. At no time will more than 20% of the teachers be permitted to be on personal leave at any one time. Absence for personal reasons will be allowed provided the absence is approved at least five (5) days in advance, except in cases of an emergency, by the Superintendent or, in the Superintendent's absence, the Principal. Teachers working less than five full days per week shall have the number of their paid leave days prorated accordingly. In the event an employee does not utilize the three (3) days allotted for personal leave, any unused leave days shall be added to the employee’s accumulated sick leave days.
Subject to the approval of the Superintendent, two (2) days in addition to the above three (3) personal days will be granted if a teacher is to be married. This leave will not be approved if it is combined with the personal days granted under paragraph (a) above.
Each employee shall be entitled to bereavement leave of five (5) business days from the date of the funeral or the date of death of a person in the employee's immediate family. A business day shall be defined as a standard day for conducting business which excludes weekends and public holidays. Immediate family is defined as parent, spouse, child, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, domestic partner. Teachers shall be granted up to three (3) days of bereavement leave in the event of the death of a brother-in-law or sister-in-law. Teachers shall be granted one-day bereavement leave for the death of an aunt or uncle. In addition, teachers shall be granted one-day bereavement leave for the death of a niece, nephew, or cousin and the aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin, and grandparent of the employee’s spouse for a maximum of two days per year.

Teachers called to jury duty during the regular school year shall receive their full pay during such service minus the stipend paid to them as jurors. If an employee is called to jury duty during the regular school year he or she shall make a reasonable effort to be excused or postponed until after the school year.

In cases of extended illness where all accumulated sick leave has been used, employees may apply for extended sick leave in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:30-6.

Any teacher with at least fifteen (15) years of continuous service in the Garwood school district, who retires to receive a pension from TPAF shall be compensated for all accumulated sick leave at the rate of $45 per day to a maximum payment of $8,000. The above compensation shall be paid to the surviving spouse, children or estate of any teacher who dies while in the employ of this district after completing fifteen (15) years of continuous service. Board approved leave shall not constitute a break in service, but the time spent on the Board approved leave shall not count toward the accumulation of the 15 years of continuous service.

The Board will give a United States Savings Bond worth $500 upon maturity to each teacher with perfect attendance during each school year. The only absences that will not be considered a breach of perfect attendance are absences to attend a professional conference or meeting or absences under Article XI, A.2. (bereavement leave) of this Agreement or absences due to jury duty providing the teacher has requested a postponement of the service. Proof of the request for postponement shall be given to the Superintendent.

In addition to the sick leave referred to in paragraph A above, each teacher shall be entitled to five days of sick leave each year to attend to the serious illness of any family member. The teacher shall notify the administration whenever family sick leave is being taken. The sick leave for family leave shall be charged against the teacher's accumulated sick leave. This family sick leave shall not be accumulated. For purposes of this paragraph E, family member shall be the teacher's spouse, child, stepchild, sibling, stepparent, foster child, parent, parent-in-law, or domestic partner. In the event that a grandparent or grandchild is a member of the household, family illness days are applicable.

The Board may remove any pregnant teacher from her teaching duties on any of the following bases:

Her performance substantially declines from the period preceding her pregnancy.

Her physical condition renders her incapable of performing her assigned duties, which shall be deemed to exist if the pregnant teacher fails to produce a physician's certificate that she is medically able to continue teaching.

Any other just cause is found to exist in N.J.S.A. 18A.

The Board shall grant a leave of absence for medical reasons associated with pregnancy on the same terms and conditions governing leaves of absence for other illness or medical disability, as set forth in N.J.S.A. 18A: 30.1 et seq.,
If any employee commences her leave at the beginning of her period of disability, she may, if she desires, use her accumulated sick leave for the period of disability related to her pregnancy and childbirth.
Any tenured or nontenured teacher seeking such leave shall apply to the Board thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the leave. At the time of application, the teacher shall specify, in writing, the date on which she wishes to commence her leave and the date on which she wishes to return to work after the birth. The Board may require any teacher to produce a certificate from the physician to support the requested leave dates. If the Board desires a second medical opinion the teacher, at her option, may obtain said opinion from the Board's physician at the Board's expense.
Following the grant of such leave to any teacher, the commencement and termination dates thereof may be further extended or reduced for medical reasons upon application to the Board. Such extension or reduction shall be granted by the Board for an additional reasonable period of time. The Board may require any teacher to produce a physician's certificate in support of the requested change. If the Board desires a second medical opinion the teacher, at her option, may obtain said opinion from the Board's physician at Board expense or from a mutually agreed to second physician at the Board's expense.

Child rearing leaves without pay shall be granted for the duration of the school year in which they commence and shall be renewed on a yearly basis, upon request, for a total of two (2) additional school years. Such leaves shall commence immediately following the period of pregnancy disability and any statutory family leave act provisions, if requested by the teacher. Teachers on child rearing leaves shall inform the district by April 1 if they intend to return to work in September, to request another year of leave, or to resign, so that the district can make proper plans regarding staffing. The leaves may continue to the end of a semester or to the end of the school year or to any other scheduled break in the school year if requested by the teacher, provided, however, that any return other than at the beginning of a school year shall be in the sole and unreviewable discretion of the Board.

The Board is under no compulsion to continue the employment of a nontenured employee beyond the contracted period so long as non-renewal of employment is not based solely upon a condition of pregnancy or childbirth.

Steps for adoption -- any teacher adopting a child (up to his/her fifth (5th) birthday) shall be granted a child rearing leave as set forth in C., D. and E. above, except that the leave shall commence upon de-facto custody of the child or earlier, if necessary, to fulfill the requirements of adoption, which requirements are to be ascertained by a legitimately recognized adoption agency or attorney involved in that adoption.

An employee who suffers a miscarriage, still birth or infant death or any other compelling reason, may request an early return to duty by notifying the Superintendent of Schools, in writing, of his/her intent to return to duty. The Superintendent shall notify the employee when he/she may return to duty, in writing, within thirty (30) calendar days.

Advancement on the salary guide shall be based upon the date of commencement of the maternity or adoption leave. The teacher shall be granted on a full salary step if he/she works one hundred (100) days or more. Working less than one hundred (100) days shall result in no advancement on the salary guide.

Leaves under this Article shall not be counted for tenure purposes except for leaves with pay for disability reasons under paragraph B.

Fully paid coverage will be provided for all full-time permanent teaching and nursing employees of the Board, their dependents, and domestic partners. The coverage provided will be the maximum that the employee is eligible for and avails himself.

If the employee is at least equally covered elsewhere, then the employee shall elect to not be covered under the policy provided by the Board. The employee shall accept the coverage provided by the other employer of his spouse's employer.

If, for any reason, the protection under the other policy shall no longer be available to the employee, then the employee shall give immediate notice in writing to the Board. In that event, the Board shall immediately arrange to have the employee covered according to Paragraph A of this Article.

Effective July 1, 2006 the Board shall pay $4,000.00 annually to any employee who waives health benefit coverage for a period of twelve (12) months. Payment shall be made in two (2) equal installments, following a six month waiting period.

The health insurance plan shall require employees to follow applicable procedures for Mandatory Second Surgical Opinion and Pre-administration Certification/Continued Stay Review.

Included in this guide is compensation for attendance officer duties of the school nurse.

Co-Curricular Compensation

		2005/2006	2006/2007	2007/2008
1.	Coaches (each sport)	$	1,702.54	$1,779.15$1,859.21
2.	Music Director		2,046.99	2,139.102,235.36
3.	Outdoor Education
	Teacher		113.09 p/day	$118.18 p/day$123.49 p/day
	Coordinator		161.85 p/day	$169.13 p/day$176.74 p/day
4.	Play Director		1,974.36	$2,063.21$2,156.05
5.	Play Director (second night)		211.65	221.17231.13
6.	Cheerleader Coach		1,702.54	$1,779.15$1,859.21
7.	Student Council Advisor		446.13	466.20487.18
8.	Yearbook Advisor		446.13	466.20487.18
9.	Head Teacher		1,015.71	1,061.421,109.18
10.	Play production not to exceed 5 positions		2,549.14 (total of 5 positions)	2,663.85 (total of 5 positions)2,783.72 (total of 5 positions)
	The second night chaperone fee		64.33	67.2270.24
11.	After-school clubs		Clubs shall be scheduled to consist of 10 one-hour periods. Teachers assigned to such after-school club activities shall be compensated at $328.89 for school year 2005-2006, $343.69 for school year 2006-2007 and $359.15 for school year 2007-2008 per after-school club activity.

12.	Overnight class trip-coordinator		155.63 p/day		162.63 p/day		169.95 p/day
13.	Overnight class trip-teachers		105.83 p/day		110.59 p/day		115.56 p/day

Reimbursement for all teachers for the use of their own vehicles and private vehicles for school business shall be paid at the IRS rate effective when the driving occurred.

Initial placement on the salary guide shall be at such point as shall be agreed to between the Board and the employee. Thereafter employees shall advance one step on the salary guide for each school year of service in the district. The Board shall provide each new hire with a copy of the current collective bargaining agreement.

For school year 2005-2006, the stipend for curriculum writing shall be $36.31 per hour provided, however, that the curriculum is acceptable to the Superintendent. In school year 2006-2007 the stipend for curriculum writing shall be $37.95 per hour and in school year 2007-2008 the stipend for curriculum writing shall be $39.65 per hour with the Superintendent to determine the number of hours per curriculum per grade level to be compensated for upon consultation with the Association President or designee.

Definition.

Extra-curricular activities include those activities not specified as part of the teaching and duty assignments scheduled in the regular workday, work week, or work year as defined in this Agreement or as established by past practice. Said extra-curricular activities and the compensation for same are set forth in Article XV of the Agreement. Teachers providing community outreach beyond the normal work day shall be paid $36.31 per hour for the 2005-2006 school year, $37.95 per hour for the 2006-2007 school year and $39.65 per hour for the 2007-2008 school year, for instruction, training and preparation subject to approval of hours by the Superintendent in consultation with the Association president or designee.

The salary and other terms and conditions of employment for any extra-curricular activities not currently set forth in Article XV shall be subject to negotiations between the Board and the Association.

a. The qualification for the position, its duties, and the rate of compensation shall be clearly set forth.

b. Date of Posting.

When school is in session, a notice shall be posted in each school as far in advance as practicable, at least thirty (30) school days before the final date when applications must be submitted and in no event less than fifteen (15) school days before such date. A copy of said notice shall be given to the Association at the time of posting. Teachers who desire to apply for such vacancies shall submit their applications in writing to the Superintendent within the time limit specified in the notice, and the Superintendent shall acknowledge promptly in writing the receipt of all such applications.
c. Selection Procedure.
1. All qualified teachers shall be given adequate opportunity to make application and no position shall be filled until all properly submitted applications have been considered to the professional background and attainments of all applicants.

2. In filing such vacancies, when the Superintendent or Board of Education has determined that all other factors are substantially equal, length of time in the Garwood School District shall be the deciding factor.

3. If after having made every effort, the Board is unable to employ a qualified person in accordance with the procedures set forth in Sections C-1 or C-2 above, the Board may assign a qualified teaching staff member from within the district. In-district teachers shall not be involuntarily assigned to extra-curricular positions for more than one (1) consecutive year. Any such involuntary assignment shall be made on the basis of reverse seniority among the pool of qualified personnel.

Transcript by: Salary adjustment by:
August 30 September 30
January 30 February 28

If any employee does not become a member of the Association during any membership year (i.e., from September 1 to the following August 31) which is covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, said employee will be required to pay a representation fee to the Association for that membership year. This fee shall be the maximum allowed by law.

Procedure

Notification
Prior to November 1 of each year, the Association will submit to the Board a list of those employees who have neither become members of the Association for the then current membership year nor paid directly to the Association the full amount of the representation fee for that membership year. The Board will deduct from the salaries of such employees, in accordance with paragraph 2 below, the full amount of the representation fee and promptly will transmit the amount so deducted to the Association.
Payroll Deduction Schedule
The Board will deduct the representation fee in equal installments, as nearly as possible, from the paychecks paid to each employee on the aforesaid list during the remainder of the membership year in question. The deductions will begin with the first paycheck paid:

Ten (10) days after receipt of the aforesaid list by the Board; or

Thirty (30) days after the employee begins his or her employment in a bargaining unit position.

Termination
If an employee who is required to pay a representation fee terminates his or her employment with the Board before the Association has received the full amount of the representation fee to which it is entitled under this Article, the Board will deduct the unpaid portion of the fee from the last paycheck paid to said employee during the membership year in question.
Mechanics of Deduction and Transmission of Fees
Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the mechanics for the deduction of representation fees and the transmission of such fees to the Association will, as nearly as possible, be the same as those used for the deduction and transmission of regular membership dues to the Association.
Changes
The Association will notify the Board in writing of any changes in the list provided for in paragraph 1 above and/or the amount of the representation fee, and such changes will be reflected in any deductions made more than ten (10) days after the Board receives said notice.

Liability
The Association agrees to indemnify and hold the Board harmless against any liability which may arise by reason of any action taken by the Board in complying with the provisions of this Article, provided that:

The Board gives the Association timely notice in writing of any claim, demand, suit of other form, of liability in regard to which it will seek to implement this paragraph.

Exception
It is expressly understood that paragraph 1 above will not apply to any claim, demand, suit or other form of liability which may arise as a result of any type of willful misconduct by the Board or the Board's imperfect execution of the obligations imposed upon it by this Article.

Teachers shall make application for graduate level tuition reimbursement, in writing, with the Superintendent on the forms provided. Applications shall be submitted no later than one (1) week after registration. Teachers are required to apply for tuition reimbursement prior to the commencement of classes whenever possible.

Within thirty (30) days of receipt of each application, the Superintendent shall notify the teacher, in writing, of the approval or disapproval of the application.

Reimbursement for graduate levels for tuition costs will be subject to the teacher receiving a minimum grade of "B" for the course or a passing grade where only a pass/fail option is offered.

The maximum amount of reimbursement available to any individual teacher in any payment period shall be determined by dividing the amount of funds available by the number of credits being taken in all courses for the qualified applicants.

The maximum number of graduate level credits for which reimbursement will be made to any teacher shall be (12) in any academic year.

The maximum reimbursement for each graduate level credit shall be determined each year by the per credit cost on the graduate level at Rutgers, the State University. Courses taken at a lower per-credit cost shall be reimbursed at that lower per-credit cost. Courses taken at higher per-credit cost shall be reimbursed at the Rutgers University graduate level per-credit cost.

Reimbursement is available only if the teacher has followed the above procedures and the content of the course is directly connected with the teacher's present subject field or grade level assignment or the content of the course is in a field of education to which the teacher could reasonably be expected to move in the Garwood school system.

The teacher shall be reimbursed within forty-five (45) days of the time the teacher satisfies all of the above procedures providing the teacher shall not have left the Garwood school system through retirement, resignation or dismissal.

Only tenured teaching staff employees shall be eligible for tuition reimbursement.

The Board shall provide in-service experiences whenever possible that will assist the teacher in attaining the required 100 hours of continuing education. Every effort will be made to have in-district in-service programs that shall be eligible for continuing education credit. However, when the district has a particular need for in-service in a subject area that does not meet State requirements for continuing education, the Board shall be entitled to conduct an in-service program that does not meet continuing education requirements. The Board guarantees that it will provide 12 hours of instruction per year that meets State requirements within the workday and work year. The Board may use a faculty meeting to meet the 12-hour requirement if the Superintendent has a program which meets State requirements, provided the faculty meeting shall be limited to the normal time of faculty meetings.

Tuition reimbursement shall be made available to a tenure teacher who is required to take additional undergraduate courses for the purpose of becoming “highly qualified” in accordance with the NCLB Act.

If any provision of this Agreement or any application of this Agreement to any employee or groups of employees is held to be contrary to law, then such provision or application shall not be deemed valid and subsisting, but all other provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

The parties agree that they have discussed and fully bargained and agreed upon all terms and conditions of employment for the duration of this Agreement.

A telephone answering machine will be installed to record messages from staff members who will not be reporting to work because of illness or other emergency. The answering machine will be turned on by the Substitute Coordinator when the Substitute Coordinator is not available to answer the phone personally. Notwithstanding the foregoing, employees shall telephone the Substitute Coordinator in the evenings until 10:30 P.M. to report their illness or emergency. After 10:30 P.M. (or if the Substitute Coordinator cannot be reached prior to 10:30 P.M.) calls may be made to the telephone answering machine.

Mentor Program — Effective in school year 2003-2004, the Board will pay the required fees unless the State of New Jersey reestablishes the payment program, whereupon the State payments will be substituted.

In the event a successor agreement is not reached before the end of this contract, the terms and conditions of this contract shall be in effect until such time as a successor agreement is reached.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto set their hands and seals as of this _______________ day of ___________ 2006.

ATTEST: BOARD OF EDUCATION OF GARWOOD



By:
Julia DePinto Perez, Secretary Adele Lewis, President




ATTEST: GARWOOD EDUCATION ASSOCIATION



By:
Patricia Stott , Secretary George Hansen, President

{00259366; 1}
2005-06

Salary Guide

Step	BA	BA+15	MA	MA+15	MA+30
1	38,255	40,292	41,305	42,506	44,367
2	38,555	40,592	41,605	42,806	44,667
3	39,423	41,505	42,541	43,769	45,673
4	40,310	42,440	43,498	44,755	46,700
5	41,101	43,272	44,351	45,631	47,616
6	42,343	44,409	45,547	46,858	48,841
7	43,633	45,588	46,789	48,129	50,114
8	44,971	46,812	48,078	49,448	51,435
9	46,363	48,085	49,415	50,819	52,807
10	47,804	49,405	50,803	52,241	54,227
11	49,301	50,773	52,244	53,717	55,702
12	50,853	52,194	53,739	55,247	57,233
N	52,405	53,613	55,231	56,776	58,765
M	53,959	55,032	56,725	58,306	60,294
L	55,515	56,453	58,220	59,839	61,825
K	57,069	57,871	59,714	61,354	63,342
J	58,076	58,894	60,743	62,383	64,371
I	59,098	59,922	61,769	63,409	64,401
H	60,128	60,946	62,792	64,437	64,429
G	61,152	61,972	63,818	65,460	66,468
F	62,279	63,099	64,941	66,581	68,566
E	63,384	64,305	66,147	67,946	69,934
D	63,469	64,391	66,238	68,039	70,025
C	64,574	65,601	67,439	69,121	71,106
B	68,039	68,955	70,794	72,477	74,463
A	69,885	70,802	79,719	81,402	83,390

2006-07

Salary Guide

Step	BA	BA+15	MA	MA+15	MA+30
1	39,689	41,819	42,877	44,132	46,078
2	39,989	42,119	43,177	44,432	46,378
3	40,289	42,419	43,477	44,732	46,678
4	41,197	43,373	44,455	45,739	47,728
5	42,124	44,350	45,456	46,769	48,801
6	42,950	45,219	46,347	47,685	49,759
7	44,249	46,408	47,597	48,966	51,039
8	45,597	47,639	48,895	50,294	52,370
9	46,995	48,919	50,241	51,673	53,750
10	48,449	50,249	51,639	53,106	55,183
11	49,955	51,628	53,089	54,592	56,667
12	51,520	53,058	54,595	56,134	58,209
O	53,141	54,542	56,158	57,733	59,808
N	54,763	56,025	57,717	59,331	61,409
M	56,388	57,509	59,278	60,930	63,008
L	58,013	58,994	60,840	62,532	64,607
K	59,637	60,475	62,401	64,115	66,193
J	60,690	61,544	63,476	65,190	67,267
I	61,757	62,618	64,548	66,262	67,299
H	62,834	63,688	65,617	67,337	67,328
G	63,904	64,761	66,689	68,406	69,460
F	65,082	65,938	67,864	69,577	71,652
E	66,236	67,199	69,123	71,003	73,081
D	66,325	67,289	69,219	71,101	73,176
C	67,480	68,553	70,473	72,232	74,306
B	71,101	72,058	73,980	75,738	77,814
A	73,030	73,988	83,307	85,065	87,143

{00259366; 1}
2007-08

Salary Guide

Step	BA	BA+15	MA	MA+15	MA+30
3	41,789	44,014	45,120	46,432	48,465
4	42,103	44,328	45,433	46,745	48,778
5	43,051	45,325	46,455	47,797	49,876
6	44,020	46,346	47,501	48,873	50,998
7	44,883	47,254	48,432	49,831	51,998
8	46,240	48,496	49,739	51,170	53,336
9	47,648	49,783	51,095	52,558	54,726
10	49,110	51,120	52,502	53,999	56,168
11	50,629	52,510	53,963	55,495	57,666
12	52,203	53,951	55,478	57,049	59,217
P	53,838	55,446	57,052	58,660	60,828
O	55,533	56,997	58,685	60,331	62,499
N	57,228	58,547	60,314	62,001	64,173
M	58,925	60,096	61,945	63,672	65,843
L	60,623	61,649	63,578	65,346	67,514
K	62,320	63,196	65,210	67,000	69,172
J	63,421	64,313	66,332	68,124	70,294
I	64,537	65,436	67,453	69,244	70,327
H	65,662	66,554	68,570	70,367	70,358
G	66,780	67,675	69,690	71,484	72,585
F	68,010	68,905	70,917	72,708	74,876
E	69,217	70,223	72,234	74,199	76,369
D	69,310	70,317	72,334	74,301	76,469
C	70,516	71,638	73,645	75,482	77,650
B	74,301	75,301	77,309	79,146	81,316
A	76,316	77,318	87,056	88,893	91,064

Date of action giving rise to grievance:     

Signature: Date:     

Signature: Date:     

Signature: Date: