Mediator appointed to settle contract disputes
Initial meeting
scheduled on first
day of school
BY MICHELLE ROSENBERG
Staff Writer

Aberdeen - A mediator has been assigned to help the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional Board of Education and the Matawan Regional Teachers Association reach a common ground on new teachers' contracts.

Laura Venter, the school district's business administrator, has confirmed that the state Public Employees Relations Commission has appointed Thomas Hartigan to help end an impasse the two sides reached during previous meetings.

The first meeting with Hartigan is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 9, the day school is scheduled to open, Venter said.

The meetings so far have been amicable, but the two sides are stuck and can't seem to reach an agreement, she said. There is great hope that Hartigan, an experienced mediator, can help the situation, Venter said.

All parties involved are hoping for an arrangement to be reached as early in the school year as possible, Venter said. The start of the school year goes much smoother if the teachers and staff do not have the added stress of a contract hanging over their heads, she said.

The teachers are not threatening to strike, and if no agreement is reached by the time school starts, the old contract will still be enforced until an agreement is reached, Venter said.

Venter did not comment on what the teachers are asking for in their new contracts.

Karl Kosmyna, president of the teachers association, could not be reached for comment.

The last teachers' contract expired June 30. It was a three-year contract that gave the teachers a 3.99 percent raise the first year, a 4.15 percent raise the second year and a 4.19 percent raise the third and final year. This contract was agreed upon between the two sides, without the help of a mediator.

As for this year, Venter said both sides have been very cooperative with one another. Both sides are hopeful that Hartigan will be able to help break the impasse, Venter said.