Newark

The City Association of Supervisors and Administrators (CASA) ratifies the terms for a new three-year contract with the Newark Public Schools, ensuring further stability for leaders as district moves into local control.

[Newark, NJ — February 6, 2018] – Newark Public Schools (NPS) announced today that they have negotiated the terms for a new three-year contract spanning the 2017-18 to 2019-20 school years with members of the City Association of Supervisors and Administrators (CASA).  Both sides also memorialized two agreements for the previous span of time from 2009-10 through 2017-18.  This contract will bring stability to CASA membership, knowing that they have the benefit of an excellent contract with impressive raises for several years moving forward.  This contract also closes a long-standing period of uncertainty and frozen contracts, creating stability as the district moves into a new phase with local control being returned on February 1, 2018.

“I’d like to thank our team here at NPS and the leadership of CASA for their hard work to get to this agreement done,” noted Interim Superintendent Robert Gregory. “We have some of the most talented and hardest working school leaders in the country here in Newark. This contract sends the message that our administrators are deeply valued and allows us to attract even more great leaders moving forward. This is also a great example of how we are working collaboratively with our union partners to get the best outcomes we can for their members and the district as a whole.”

The contract includes substantial raises and additional compensation for CASA members in order to compensate them for the impressive work they do every day and to be competitive with other districts. Details include:

• Salary Increases → Overall, current CASA administrators will receive an average salary increase over three years of 4.27% from 2017 through 2020. These raises far exceed the state average and are intended to provide meaningful raises to CASA administrators and make Newark very competitive with other districts.
• A New Salary Guide with Performance-Based Raises → In a ground-breaking provision of the contract, CASA administrators will now earn raises on a new 10-step salary guide based on their performance rating. Previous collective bargaining agreements with the district were the first in the state to move to performance-based pay, and now Newark administrators will join other NPS employees as the leaders in the state on this issue. Specifically, administrators will move a step on their salary scale when they are rated Effective or Highly Effective. Furthermore, by reducing the amount of steps from 15 to 10, this new guide allows CASA administrators to reach the top salary at a faster pace.
• Stipends for Administrators in Extended Learning Time Schools → Almost half the schools in NPS have an extended day for staff and students, allowing for more learning time for students and more collaborative planning for teachers. Now, with this contract, CASA administrators who work in these schools with extended learning time will earn additional compensation. For example, starting this year, administrators will earn a $5,200 stipend for their additional work in an extended learning time school.

“Our schools can only achieve greatness with great school leaders. After almost nine years without a new contract, this negotiation was really all about doing right by a group of the most important people in the district,” added Larisa Shambaugh, Chief Talent Officer for Newark Public Schools. “When you look at the contract our school leaders have ratified, it is all about showing them that they are valued, that we understand the hard work that they do each and every day for our students, and that we want to reward them for it.”

The new contract also finds savings for the district and educators through health and benefits changes that reduce costs while retaining the quality of care consistent with previous agreements. It does this in the following ways:

• Healthcare Savings → Those CASA administrators who have NPS PPO 10, 15, and 15/25 plans will be moved to the 20/20 plan (i.e., $20 co-pay for both general and specialty doctors). This means that CASA administrators will have access to their same network of providers, but at a lower monthly contribution, thereby potentially saving money in each paycheck. Co-pays per visit and out-of- pocket maximums will increase, but for many CASA administrators the overall cost for medical expenses may decrease.
• Prescription Benefit Savings → This contract will save money for the majority of CASA administrators on co-pays for prescription benefits. The new proposal will charge a $0 co-pay for generic drugs and a $20 co-pay for brand name.
• Modifications to Longevity Rules → Any current CASA administrator who has earned longevity or who will earn longevity through this contract will not be impacted nor will he or she lose longevity amounts. However, longevity has been eliminated for CASA administrators who will not earn it by the end of this contract in June 2020, which allows the district to put more money into the salary guide for all.

CASA currently represents principals, school chief innovation officers, vice principals, and heads of athletics. The contract was officially ratified on January 31, 2018 and takes effect immediately.