Ocean City teachers will see 2 percent salary increases in a new contract approved by the Ocean City Board of Education on Wednesday.
The three-year contract — in effect from July 1, 2014 (retroactively) through June 30, 2017 — calls for a 2 percent increase in the first year, a 2.1 percent increase in the second year and a 2.1 percent increase in the third year.
The percentage increases apply only to base salary and not to longevity step increases or other supplemental income.
“The board believes that the settlement, which was reached by the parties prior to the start of school, is fair, reasonable and responsible for both parties’ respective members and constituents,” according to a written statement from the Board of Education released by attorney Mark G. Toscano on Thursday.
Under the new contract, teachers will pay for an increased portion of their medical benefits, according to H. James Bauer, head of the Board of Education’s negotiating team. He also said pay steps for sports coaches and club advisors were consolidated.
Alice Wolf, head of the Ocean City Education Association, said the teachers’ union was generally happy with the contract.
“It’s the first time in a long time that we’ve had a contract before school starts,” Wolf said.
The union and the school board had reached a tentative agreement on the contract in August.
The board voted unanimously Wednesday night to give final approval to the contract. The vote came with no discussion and no public disclosure of the terms of the contract. The details were released Thursday in the written statement from Toscano.
Personnel costs account for more than $31 million of Ocean City’s $40 million school budget, and the median salary of faculty members exceeded $90,000 (compared to a statewide median of $63,851) when the district negotiated its last contract, according to the state Department of Education school report cards for 2010-2011. Teacher salaries are the single biggest factor in determining school taxes paid by Ocean City property owners.
The written statement from the board outlined the following highlights of the contract:
- “An overall wage increase for members of the OCEA that is below the current state and county average. More specifically, the agreement calls for increases of 2.0 percent for the 2014-2015 school year, 2.1 percent for the 2015-2016 school year and 2.1 percent for the 2016-2017 school year. These increase percentages are inclusive of any incremental costs.”
- “The continuation of the parties’ mutually agreed upon revision and restructuring of the compensation structure and the methodology used to set the stipend amounts for the district’s athletic coaches and advisors for the district’s clubs and activities.”
- “In light of additional new mandates and requirements from the state Department of Education for all educators, the parties agreed that it was appropriate to add an additional day of training so that new teachers would be better prepared and better able to provide high-quality instruction and services to our students.”
- “A wholesale revision to the evaluation and appointment timelines and schedule of the district’s athletic coaches.”
“Most importantly, though, is the fact that the parties were able to work together to reach these agreements without the assistance of any outside party, a declaration of impasse on the part of either party, and, as noted above, before the start of the school year, so that everyone’s focus could remain on a smooth and successful start to the new school year,” the statement said.
The board thanked the members of its own negotiating team and the members of the OCEA team.
The last teachers’ contract, in effect from July 2011 through June 2014, called for 1.99 percent annual salary increases for teachers and eliminated two separate longevity “step” increases effective only for new employees.
Financial summaries are typically provided to the board and the public by the school business administrator, but Business Administrator Pasquale “Pat” Yacovelli had resigned after working only nine months in Ocean City and did not attend Wednesday’s meeting.
Yacovelli was hired at a $137,500 annual salary with additional shared services stipends of $3,500 for the Corbin City School District and $10,000 for the Sea Isle City School District. He started work in the district in December 2013, and is reportedly now working in the Buena Regional School District.
The board voted Wednesday to accept Yacovelli’s resignation effective Oct. 7. They also approved a professional services contract with Terrence Crowley to provide business office/board secretary services from Sept. 24 through Dec. 31 at $60 per hour, not to exceed 35 hours per week.
Crowley is a retired Cape May County executive superintendent of schools. He worked during Wednesday’s meeting.
“It will be good to get back to where things actually happen,” Crowley said of returning to work closer to students and teachers.
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