UPDATED: Moorestown BOE, Union Fail to Reach Agreement

UPDATE: In a statement to Patch, Moorestown Education Association (MEA) president Lisa Trapani reiterated her desire, and willingness, to strike a deal with the board of education before the school year starts.

"We have an opportunity now to finish negotiations and focus on kids. The MEA is willing to meet at any time," she wrote. "The BOE has the resources to get this done; and we have the time to get it done before students return to school. We want our only focus to be on students, not meetings and negotiations. We have a month to achieve that goal."
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Moorestown teachers will likely start the school year without a contract after the board of education and the union failed to come to terms on a new contract Monday.

Board Member Kevin O'Sullivan said both sides holed up in the administration building for six hours Monday night—from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.—trading proposals back and forth via the state-appointed mediator. The previous contract expired on June 30.

While both sides "moved a little on salaries," they're still apart, he said. O'Sullivan had previously stated the union and board were "millions of dollars apart" in negotiations.

O'Sullivan, who sits on the board's negotiation committee, said the primary sticking points are still the same: salary, benefits and contract language. He accused the Moorestown Education Association of continuing to make unrealistic proposals.

"I guess I'm optimistic," he said. "On the other hand, there are economic realities that are based on mathematical fact ... I'd love to have a deal, but I can't make a deal we can't afford."

The contract being negotiated would be a three-year deal. 

Due to the availability of the mediator—one of only three in the whole state, according to O'Sullivan—both sides aren't expected to meet again until Oct. 2. 

Unless a deal gets done before then, it'll be the second time in the last three years that the district has started the school year without a contract. The union began the 2010-11 school year without a contract, and a new one wasn't settled until almost the 11th hour before the start of the 2011-12 school year. 

Both sides had publicly stated they were committed to trying to reach an agreement before the beginning of this school year. O'Sullivan admitted it was disappointing.

Board Vice President Kathy Goldenberg struck a somewhat more hopeful tone when asked for comment, saying, "Anytime the parties are speaking and working on this through the mediation process, it's a good thing. We're working all together."

Stay with Moorestown Patch for more on this story as it continues to develop.

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