Lawrence teachers get pay raises, district proposes $25M referendum
LAWRENCE » One year after the Lawrence Township Education Association publicly expressed “no confidence” in Superintendent Dr. Crystal M. Edwards, teachers in the district are now secured with retroactive salary increases.
Meanwhile, the Lawrence Board of Education is mulling a school improvements referendum after the teachers union cited “overall lack of capital improvements” as a reason for having no faith in Edwards’ leadership.
The school board and LTEA have recently ratified a new three-year contract that gives educators, child study team members, custodians, buildings and grounds staff, secretaries, nurses and guidance counselors a 2.75 percent salary increase for the current schoolyear retroactive to July 1.
LTEA members will receive a subsequent 2.75 percent salary increase next summer and a 2.8 percent salary increase in the 2019-20 schoolyear, according to district officials. With nearly 600 members, the LTEA is the largest of three unions that represent Lawrence Township Public Schools employees.
“The board and the LTEA worked collaboratively to reach an agreement that is fair to our teachers and the public and benefits our entire community,” Lawrence school board President Kevin Van Hise said Monday in a press statement. Van Hise, who played a critical role in settling the new contracts, previously said the Lawrence Board of Education has “full and complete confidence in and support Dr. Edwards as the leader of the district” and questioned the legitimacy of the LTEA’s “no confidence” vote.
The LTEA last September publicly announced that 86 percent of its membership had registered a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Edwards, who has been superintendent since September 2011 and is under contract to serve till at least June 30, 2020.
Hoping to inspire changes in the district, the LTEA drafted a letter dated May 26, 2016, explaining its vote of no confidence. The highly critical letter alleges that Edwards had a lack of concern that “compromised curriculum standards that affect our students’ ability to succeed” and further alleges that “Edwards’ general unwillingness to work cooperatively with not just the LTEA, but with the staff creates a climate of hostility, fear, and — in many instances — creates the perception that she is only interested in achieving the goals set forth in her personal contract.”
“Under Dr. Edwards, district facilities are falling into disrepair,” the LTEA letter further alleges. “Older district school buildings do not provide adequate educational amenities. In addition to cramped classrooms and a lack of communal space for educators and students, there are perennial issues with insects, mold, mildew, broken air conditioners, leaking roofs, leaky plumbing, leaking windows, leaking heaters, damaged floors, run down offices and an overall lack of capital improvements. Repairs are frequently quick fixes that require attention within a few months.”
LTEA publicly announced the “no confidence” vote on Sept. 1, 2016. Edwards four weeks ago recommended the Lawrence Board of Education to approve a proposed referendum that will allow Lawrence voters to decide if the district shall make $25 million in security and infrastructure improvements at all seven schools in the district.
The school board on Aug. 23 approved the motion calling for a referendum special election to be held Jan. 23, 2018, but district officials say that date is not yet confirmed. The district under Edwards’ leadership wants to bolster air conditioning districtwide, replace aging boiler and heater systems at Lawrence Middle School and implement life safety system upgrades at all schools and district buildings including telephone, public address, intrusion alarm and access control systems, according to information posted on the district’s website.
With a school improvements referendum on the horizon, it shows Edwards understands LTEA’s concerns over facility maintenance, and with LTEA members receiving retroactive pay increases on Edwards’ recommendation, it show the superintendent has respect for her workforce despite the brouhaha over the LTEA’s “no confidence” vote.
Edwards at the Sept. 13 Lawrence school board meeting recommended the board to approve and adopt a Memorandum of Agreement dated June 13, 2017, codifying the threeyear salary increases for LTEA members. The union’s rank-and-file membership ratified the agreement on Sept. 6, and the nine-member school board unanimously approved the agreement at last week’s board meeting.
The school board and LTEA agreed to the Memorandum of Agreement after two meetings with a state-appointed mediator.