Newark Teachers Union, Board of Education Reach Transformational Contract Agreement

NEWARK, N.J.—The Newark Teachers Union and the Newark Board of Education announced today it has reached a transformational tentative contract agreement that gives educators a voice on classroom and district policies as well as a 4.5 percent raise for each year of the five-year contract.

NTU members will hold several informational sessions to learn about the tentative contract’s provisions before a June 6 membership ratification vote.

“The tentative agreement is a model of labor-management collaboration. We felt the best way to get a contract that helps Newark students succeed and thrive would be to be partners, not combatants. What makes this contract transformational and a model for other districts is that teachers will have a genuine voice in all aspects of Newark education, including having seats on committees that deal with instruction issues and district operations.,” said NTU President John Abeigon.

Newark Board of Education Superintendent Roger Leon said: “Successful schools must have a  culture of collaboration and good communication. The NTU an District teams exemplified that  during the contract negotiation process, and we fully expect it to continue over the next several years. very voice matters so that we can provide our kids with the best quality education possible. This kind of partnership will help us further our commitment to excellence in all of our schools.”

The tentative agreement provides all NTU members a 4.5 percent raise for each of the contract’s five years, plus additional increases for educators with master’s degrees or PhD’s and those who have put in 35 or more years of service. The new starting salary will be $65,000 and in the fifth year of the contract, the 2029-2030 school year, it will be $74,000. In addition, the tentative agreement includes salary increases for non-instructional staff, substitutes and hourly-pay employees.

Included in the tentative agreement is language allowing teachers to select or even design curriculum, and it wouldn’t change during the course of the year without educator buy-in. Further, teachers would provide professional development that matches the standards-based curriculum to ensure they understand what they will be teaching, negating the need to contract this out or buy off-the-shelf professional development.

Another provision involves teacher evaluations. If a teacher is found to be underperforming, supports would be provided and the teacher would be observed again and re-evaluated. This way, evaluations will be more helpful than punitive.

The tentative contract also includes a child study committee team to ensure that social workers and other employees who work at several schools have reasonable caseloads and schedules.

AFT President Randi Weingarten said this tentative contract agreement is an example of how best to help our students and teachers.

“What a difference local control makes, and a superintendent and union that want to make progress for students, as opposed to erecting obstacles or taking pot shots. This Newark tentative contract agreement is a transformative document charting out a cultural shift of educators and district officials working together on the educational strategies, policies and practices that will actually make a difference for students,” Weingarten said.

“Teachers will have a genuine voice in classroom and even school operations, and teachers and administrators have pledged to work together to make this a reality. Newark also has pledged to pay educators a more livable wage, recognizing the role educators play. No doubt all of this will benefit kids. I’m really proud of Newark, our union, the negotiators and the administration and  what it will mean in the years to come for the entire community,” she said.

Abeigon said: “This contract can help Newark become a destination school district, where all school professionals want to work, where parents want to send their children and where kids can thrive.”

Leon said: “We look forward to the ratification of this contract by my incredible staff and look forward to its implementation over the next five years,” adding, “While we know that a labor agreement is between the members and the administration, the ultimate beneficiaries of this contract will be all of the children in the city of Newark.”