Watchung Hills' Administrators to Fill After-School Gap

Begining Monday, members of Watchung Hills Regional's administration will be "posted throughout the school" after classes to provide assistance to students, the school's board of education announced Friday.

The announcement came after board members met for about an hour in closed session regarding the ongoing negotiations with the Watchung Hills Regional Education Association. After breaking from the closed meeting to make the announcement, board members returned to the executive session to continue discussions, but without further action planned.

The step being taken is aimed at alleviating some of the students' complaints of limited access and time after school with instructors following the institution of "work to rule" hours by the teachers association. According to Superintendent Frances Stromsland, the availability of the administrators, including herself, will enable students to stay later, take the late bus home, and obtain additional help.

More details, including a list of administrators participating, will be posted later.

Board members were anxious to dispel concerns regarding the talks, which Negotiating Committee Chairman Peter Fallon noted is continuing to discuss the offers aand counter-offers between the board and the WHREA with the state-appointed mediator.

"The result is we continue to work towards a negotiated settlement," Fallon said.

He said representatives of the WHREA met with the mediator Thursday evening, and both sides continue to meet with the mediator "with the aim of seeing if we can't make progress towards a settlement on April 12 or before." April 12 is the next scheduled mediation meeting, with both parties meeting with the mediator.

The board members sought to also clarify that the offer made to the WHREA includes salary increases for each of the three years of the contract, contrary to rumors students have reported hearing, although members will did not state the amount of the increases offered.

But they reiterated the limitation posed by the state's enactment of a 2 percent tax levy cap in what increases are possible.

"The new reality of the hard-and-fast tax levy cap means we are limited," Board President Robert Horowitz said. Board Vice-president Harold Grossnickle added that should a new contract add too much to the budget to meet the 2 percent cap, the board would have to eliminate other items in the budget and seek separate voter approval on those items.

The board will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2012-2013 school budget at 7 p.m. Tuesday—and residents are encouraged to attend and ask about the budget—but the board will not discuss the negotiations at that time.