Toms River Teachers, School Board Reach Tentative 1-Year Pact

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional Board of Education approved a one-year agreement with the Toms River schools' teachers' union that gives teachers a raise and continues the bulk of their contract for a year.

The memorandum of agreement approved Wednesday night by the school board and obtained by a Open Public Records Act request, includes a 3.275 percent raise for the district's teachers for the 2020-2021 school year. It still must be ratified by the full membership of the Toms River Education Association membership. That vote has not yet been scheduled.

The district's previous contract expired June 30, 2020.

The Toms River Education Association and the school district released a joint statement Friday afternoon in response to the publication of this article. It said:

"Although the MOA was approved by the Toms River Board of Education on January 20, 2021, the agreement must be ratified by the Toms River Education Association before the contract is considered settled. It was not the intention of the Board of Education or the Toms River Education Association for the provisions of this memorandum to be announced publicly unless approved by the full Toms River Education Association membership; however, as a public entity, the Board was obligated under the law to accommodate the OPRA request. Going forward, modifications will be made to the timing of the memorandum approval process to ensure information is not released before intended."

"The Association and the Board are committed to achieving a fair and equitable contract that recognizes the talent and hard work of its staff while maintaining fiscal responsibility for the district and academic excellence for its students," the statement said.

The memorandum of agreement was reached to give the union and the school board time to negotiate a new contract as the district wrestles with the coronavirus pandemic, which has made face-to-face negotiations difficult.

The memorandum of agreement also includes an increase to $81 per day for Tier II paraprofessionals, up from $78 under the previous contract. Also added for the Tier II paraprofessionals is a paragraph that adds the provision for 5 days of paid time off for the death of an immediate family member, defined as spouse or civil union partner, child, children's spouses, siblings, grandparents, and those of the spouse or partner.

The school board had filed a notice of impasse with state Public Employment Relations Commission in September when bargaining over a new contract hit a snag over proposed raises. Read more: Toms River School Board Files Impasse Over Teacher Contract Talks

This article has been updated with a joint statement about the release of the memorandum of agreement.

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