Teachers' Concessions Save Most, But Not All, Custodians

Concessions from school district teachers helped shield the majority of custodians from the school district’s budget axe, district and union officials said Tuesday.

The Wall Township Education Association, the union that represents school district teachers, has agreed to sacrifice a little in order to keep all but six custodians under the current version of the 2011-12 budget, .

An earlier version of the district’s $61 million spending plan proposed to outsource the entire custodial staff, eliminating 32 positions. The move would save at least $900,000, according to schools Superintendent James Habel.

But the teacher’s union agreed to “health benefit givebacks,’’ a 5 percent pay reduction for custodians and the elimination of six custodians, among other concessions, Habel said.

The cost of keeping the remaining six custodial positions – or $324,830 — will be added to the April 27 ballot in a separate question posed to voters, Habel said.

"I think what the (teachers union) has done is commendable,'' Habel said.

The teacher’s union, in an email statement said:

"We have been in discussion with the board to prevent privatization of custodial positions. We have a tentative deal pending ratification by general membership that will prevent outsourcing. "

That vote is scheduled for Thursday, the statement said.

The district’s $61,039,000 budget is up $1,353,500 or 2.27 percent from last year’s $59,685,500 spending plan.

The budget is supported by a $56,829,239 tax levy, which is up $1,111,890 or 2 percent from last year’s $55,717,349 levy.

The proposed tax rate of  $1.558 is up five cents from last year’s rate of $1.508, an increase of 3.32 percent.

On a home valued at $312,700 – the township average – the 2011-12 tax bill would be $4,871.87, an increase of  $156.35 over last year’s $4,715.52 bill.

The proposed second question to retain the six custodial positions would raise the tax rate an additional $.004 cents to $1.562. That would bring the tax bill on the average home assessment to $4,884.37, an increase of $12.50 over the budget alone.

The school tax bill is only one part of the overall tax burden, which also includes county, municipal and fire district taxes.

.

The budget proposes to keep all current programs, shed two administrative positions and spend $1.8 million on roofing at the three elementary schools and the high school, in addition to a $200,000 gym floor replacement.

The state contributes 40 percent of the roofing work, according to Brian Smyth, schools business administrator.