Teachers Say Board Walked Away From Contract Mediation as Board Member Yaros-Ramos Resigns Her Seat

Superintendent Dirk Phillips told the board that a student made a threatening comment at the high school last week, an incident he said was handled immediately with the cooperation of the Glen Ridge Police Department; he said the district would continue working through related issues among the students involved.

Board member Dr. Heather Yaros-Ramos announced her resignation from the board, saying that after years of working with the district on an education plan for her child, continuing to serve created the appearance of a potential conflict of interest that New Jersey law required her to resolve by stepping down. She said she expects the underlying matter to be resolved before the board seats its next class in January and confirmed she is not withdrawing as a candidate in the November board election. Ms. Ginsburg thanked her for her service, and the board also congratulated longtime paraprofessional Arlene Zalewski, who has worked in the district since 2003, on her retirement effective June 30, 2023. Colin Pennington, elected student council president, was introduced as the board's first student representative under a new state mandate, a non-voting position meant to relay student perspective to the board and board news back to his classmates.

The board approved bills and claims of $454,712.19, ratified payroll and related expenses of $1,435,772.51 for August, and approved an open purchase order report of $3,995,084.17 for the 2022-2023 school year.

Board President Elisabeth Ginsburg walked members through a summary of the district's new five-year strategic plan, the product of roughly 12 hours of sessions involving 27 community members and facilitated by Richard Panacucci of the Madison Institute; its mission statement is "every student inspired, engaged, and supported," with goals touching academic policy access, global awareness in curriculum, communication around special education, student access to counseling supports, and transparency around diversity, equity and inclusion programming. Colin Pennington reported on the return to normal school activities, including the Ridge Day pep rally at Hurrell Field, the marching band's season debut, and this week's high school club fair. The board also approved several field trips, including a Ridgewood Avenue School visit to the Glen Ridge Public Library, an Astronomy/Engineering trip to the IMAX theater and planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, and a French class trip to see the film "The Girl Who Wore Freedom" at the French Institute Alliance Française.

The board approved the first reading of a new Emergency Virtual/Remote Instruction Program policy and an accompanying instructional plan, both required under a new state mandate for districts to have a remote-learning plan on file in case of a multi-day closure; Phillips emphasized the district has no plans to actually use it.

Public comment was dominated by the district's ongoing, and increasingly bitter, contract negotiations with the Glen Ridge Education Association. Matt Cannici, an English teacher and co-lead negotiator for the union, said the board's attorney told his team in May that the board saw no point in continuing to negotiate and was declaring an impasse before the contract had even expired, and that during the first state mediation session board team members walked out of the building without telling the union or the mediator they were leaving. Science teacher Kostas Barkouras said teacher salaries are only six percent above 2010 levels even as the cost of living has risen more than 30 percent over the same period, noting that U.S. News & World Report ranked Glen Ridge High School 12th in New Jersey this year among schools that, unlike the other schools ranked above it, are not admissions-only. Union president MaryLynn Savio, a 24-year district teacher, said it has become the norm for the board to let contracts lapse and negotiations drag on for three years at a time, and that the board again failed to offer a counterproposal before this round of mediation. Ginsburg apologized for what she called a miscommunication about the mediation session and said the board has "no lack of respect" for teachers and intends to reach a settlement at the next mediation session on October 12. Residents Phil Johnson and Ryan Doyle asked procedural questions about teacher turnover and how the board would fill Yaros-Ramos's seat if she wins re-election but cannot be seated in January; resident Patrick Prablik and teacher Carol Wilcox-Svetik both urged the board and union to reach a fair agreement quickly.

Action items

• Accepted the resignation of board member Dr. Heather Yaros-Ramos, who cited a potential conflict of interest and said she will continue running for re-election in November
• Accepted the retirement of longtime paraprofessional Arlene Zalewski, effective June 30, 2023
• Approved bills and claims of $454,712.19, ratified payroll of $1,435,772.51, and approved an open purchase order report of $3,995,084.17 for the 2022-2023 school year
• Approved first reading of a new Emergency Virtual/Remote Instruction Program policy and the required emergency instructional plan for 2022-2023
• Approved field trips including a Ridgewood Avenue School library visit, an Astronomy/Engineering trip to the American Museum of Natural History's IMAX theater and planetarium, and a French class trip to see "The Girl Who Wore Freedom"

Watch key moments

• 15:06 — Board member Heather Yaros-Ramos announces her resignation over a potential conflict of interest, but says she's still running for re-election in November.
• 18:54 — Teacher union negotiator Matt Cannici accuses the board's team of walking out of a state mediation session without telling anyone they were leaving.
• 23:08 — Science teacher Kostas Barkouras lays out the numbers: teacher pay up just 6% since 2010 while the cost of living has risen more than 30%.