Other districts looking at pact Hackettstown's new teachers' contract drawing interest. Wednesday, May 24, 2006 • BY LYNN OLANOFF • The Express-Times Hackettstown's new teachers' contract is garnering interest from other school districts. The contract includes two key changes to the Hackettstown Education Association's health benefits, saving the district more than $100,000 in an area that continues to fuel rising school budgets. But whether other Warren County districts can offload part of those costs remains to be seen. In Phillipsburg, where health care costs have almost doubled in the last five years, officials will consider the new Hackettstown deal as it negotiates a new contract, Business Administrator Bill Poch said. In Great Meadows Regional School District, where the teachers' contract expired nearly a year ago, officials there are hopeful for a conclusion like Hackettstown's, Board of Education President Robert Jones said. Hackettstown's three-year deal will be retroactive to July and include successive annual salary increases of 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4 percent. In terms of health benefits, the contract cuts reimbursements on prescription co-pays and raises the deductible for out-of-network doctors from $200 to $400 for the PPO plan and $300 to $600 for the traditional plan. The school board is expected to approve the contract at its meeting beginning 7:45 tonight. The board unanimously approved a memorandum of agreement on the contract last month, which also covers teachers' assistants, custodians and secretaries. The education association has already approved the proposal. Hackettstown officials were unable to provide details on how the new contract will affect the district. Teachers earn an average salary of $54,435, slightly below the state's 2004-05 average of $55,087. By comparison, Phillipsburg's average teacher salary is $53,584. Comparing contracts School districts regularly compare recently settled contracts in nearby districts, New Jersey Education Association spokesman Steve Baker said. "I think all districts realize they have to remain competitive," he said. Oxford's teacher contract expired in June 2004, but officials there are not likely to consider Hackettstown's contract because the district is far along in a state-run negotiation process, Board of Education President William Ryan said. Oxford board members and teachers met recently with a state-appointed fact finder and are awaiting further direction. He said the process that could take up to a year. "We're well into the process, so it's a little too late to make too many changes," Ryan said. The district's teachers turned down a three-year contract offer in January that would have required them to contribute anywhere from $10 to $25 per paycheck for dependents' health care. The contract would have provided a combined 14 percent salary increase over three years. School board members said health care was the issue that snagged the deal. Great Meadows officials are hopeful its state-run negotiation process will have a similar result to Hackettstown, said Jones, who also represents Great Meadows on the Hackettstown board. Board members and teachers meet next with a state-appointed mediator on June 1. "The Hackettstown settlement is very much along the lines the board has been working to," Jones said. "Eventually it was settled and both sides gave a little. I'm hopeful, through the fact-finding process, we'll get to the same point." Phillipsburg board members and teachers also will meet in June, Poch said. The contract expires at the end of this school year. The board and the local education association are in the process of reviewing each other's proposals, he said. Reporter Lynn Olanoff can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at lolanoff@express-times.com. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used with permission.