Mediator Steps in to Help Settle Moorestown Contract Dispute

School board and union representatives are set to meet with a state-appointed mediator Aug. 5 in an effort to hammer out a new contract before the start of the school year.

Board Member Kevin O’Sullivan, who sits on the negotiation committee, confirmed the board and the Moorestown Education Association (MEA) are scheduled to meet next month, and said, “We look forward to getting a deal done.”

The board and union haven’t met since the MEA filed for mediation on May 2. The union’s contract expired on June 30.

Board President Don Mishler said both sides have the same goal in mind: to have a new contract before the school year begins.

If one is not approved by the first day of school, Sept. 9, it wouldn’t be the first time Moorestown’s school year has begun without a contract. The district began the 2010 school year without a contract after the previous one expired, and was days away from beginning the 2011 school year when a settlement was reached.

O’Sullivan said the two sides were still “millions (of dollars) apart” back in May, but Mishler struck a more hopeful note when asked recently whether he thought a deal could be reached sooner than later.

“I would say I think we’re closer than we all think,” he said.