As this statement from the July 20 school board meeting notes, some staffers got raises right away on July 1, while others will get them Sept. 1. As talks continue, it is clear that having the teachers pay some portion of health care insurance, which they do not do now, is likely, and proper. As talks continue, keep that in mind. The first day of school is Sept. 3.

The July 20 statement from the Board of Education is below:

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For the record, we should point out that the teachers' union contract officially expired on June 30, 2009. Negotiations on a new agreement started in the spring and have continued through the summer. The Board remains hopeful and is working hard so that a settlement can be reached fairly soon. In the meantime, under state law, the provisions of the expired contract remain in force. We also should note that some teachers received pay raises effective July 1-and many others who are on 10-month contracts will receive them September 1. This is because of a quirk in state law that requires that upon expiration of a two-year contract without ratification of a new one, pay raises due to "step" increases for the subsequent year go into effect immediately. A "step" increase occurs when a teacher who has gained a year of seniority moves up a step on the contract salary guide. We have a 12-step guide in South Orange-Maplewood, so any teachers who were on steps 1 through 11 last year have now moved up a step, to steps 2 through 12, and received the salary increase accorded to their respective step under the expired contract. Teachers already on step 12, meaning they are at the top of the guide, do not receive a "step" increase and must wait for a new contract to be settled to receive a raise. Such raises can be made retroactive if mutually agreed during negotiations; the Board is not obligated to make them retroactive.

   Note that it's only for this year that the step increases are automatic without a new contract. Should the contract talks drag on past next June 30, no step increases for 2010-11 would occur until a settlement could be reached.

   Taken together, the step increases for 2009-10 yield about a 2.8% overall union wage increase. This number may rise if an additional increase is negotiated for the current school year. When the Board renewed employee contracts in May, the salaries listed on the resolution were the "new" salaries-reflecting these state-mandated automatic step increases.