Sticking points should be public

The teachers union and the South Brunswick Board of Education should be able to discuss what is holding up their contract negotiations.

Board President Bob Long and union President Sylvia Lee have both said that they can’t discuss the issues that have kept both sides of this issue apart.

Whatever decision is reached between the parties, the bill will be paid by the taxpayers.

Because it will be our money in the end, we feel that we, the public, should be allowed to know the details of the negotiation.

The teachers have been working without a contract since July 1.

That is not too bad when you consider that the police in the township have worked for several years without a contract.

As a matter of fact, this year’s negotiations between the township and the Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local No. 166 were the first in many years to be settled before the current contract ended.

While information about the negotiations is pretty slim, several teachers at Tuesday’s rally said that they felt that the district was not paying enough for more experienced teachers.

They said that they believe that good teachers should be rewarded, and therefore retained by the district.

We agree.

In any enterprise you pay for the best talent and keep raising that pay to keep the talent with you.

Teachers are a valued asset of any school district. They should be paid at a rate that reflects the excellence of the program.

Maybe the district should look at administrative salaries before closing the purse strings for the teachers.

On the other hand, the teachers need to also realize that many people are going through hard times right now, and some are not getting raises at all.

Just this week two announcements may send a total of 1,400 workers to the unemployment line.

That is life, that is reality.

This is something we should all consider.

These negotiations have to be fair on both sides.The teachers and the board need to work together, and they both need to let the public know what they both want.

We, who pay those salaries, deserve that much.