Table of Contents

WHEREAS, the Board has an obligation pursuant to Chapter 123, Public Laws 1974, to negotiate with the Association as the representative of employees hereinafter designated, with respect to the terms and conditions of employment, and

WHEREAS, the parties have reached certain understandings, which they desire to confirm in the Agreement, be it

RESOLVED, in consideration of the following mutual covenants, it is hereby agreed as follows:

Unless otherwise indicated, the term "teacher", when used hereinafter, shall refer to all professional employees represented by the Association in the negotiations unit defined above.

This Agreement shall not be modified in whole or in part by the parties except by an instrument in writing duly executed by both parties.

Neither party, in any negotiations, shall have control over the selection of the negotiating representatives of the other party.

B. With respect to the grievance, the employee shall be assured freedom from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal in presenting the appeal. The employee shall have the right to present their own appeal or designate the representatives of the Association, or any other representative of their own choosing, to appear with them or for them at any step in the appeal after the informal meeting with the Superintendent, up to and including Step 4 outlined in the following procedures:

C. PROCEDURE

STEP 1 Any employee who has a grievance shall discuss it first with the
Superintendent (within five (5) business days of the occurrence of the incident) in an attempt to resolve the matter informally at that level.
STEP 2 If, as a result of this discussion, the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of the employee within ten (10) or less business days, the employee may set forth the complaint in writing to the Superintendent. This letter shall contain a request for a meeting with the Superintendent within ten (10) business days after the receipt of this complaint. The employee may request representation at this meeting by any member of the Association. Following this meeting, the Superintendent shall communicate the decision to the employee in writing within five (5) business days.
STEP 3 If the grievance is not resolved to the employee's satisfaction, the employee may request a review by the Board. The request for review shall be submitted in writing through the Superintendent who shall attach all related papers and forward the request to the Board. The Board shall, before the next regular Board meeting, or within fifteen (15) business days of the receipt of the request, review the grievance, hold a hearing with the employee(s) if requested, and render a decision as quickly as possible, but within a period not to exceed thirty (30) business days from the date the request was submitted.
STEP 4 If the grievance involves the interpretation of the language of this contract, the grievant may submit said grievance to binding arbitration within fifteen (15) business days after receipt of the decision of the Board. Within (10) ten business days, after such written notice of submission to binding arbitration, the Board and the grievant and/or the representative, shall attempt to agree upon a mutually acceptable arbitrator and shall obtain a commitment from said arbitrator to serve. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator or to obtain such a commitment within a specified period, a request for a list of arbitrators shall be made to the American Arbitration Association by either party. The parties than shall be bound by the rules of the American Arbitration Association in selection of an arbitrator. The arbitrator so selected shall confer with the representatives of the Board and grievant and shall hold hearing promptly. The arbitrator shall be requested to issue the decision not later than thirty (30) business days from the date of the close of hearing, or if the oral hearings have been waived, then from the date the final statements and proofs on the issues are submitted to him/her. The arbitrator's decision shall be in writing and shall set forth the findings, reasoning, and conclusions on the issues submitted. The arbitrator shall be without power to make any decision, which required the commission of an act prohibited by law or which violates the terms of this Agreement. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the parties. The cost for services of the arbitrator shall be shared equally by the Board and the grievant and any other expenses incurred shall be paid by the party incurring same.

Classroom teachers shall have two (2) daily preparation periods in addition to their lunch period in which they shall not be assigned to any other duties. Teachers are required to receive prior approval from the superintendent should they want to leave the building during a prep time. Requests shall not be unreasonably denied. Teachers are to remain in the building if not approved to leave.

E. Substitute teachers shall be provided for all subject area teachers when they are absent. In the event that a substitute is not obtained and a teacher is required to cover a class, such teacher shall be reimbursed at the rate of $20.90 in the first year, $21.88 in the second year and $22.89 in the third year for a missed preparation period.

F. Teachers will be assigned to playground/lunchroom supervision duty for a total of 60 minutes per week and not more than 3 days per week.

G. Unit members shall not be required to drive students to activities, which take place away from the school building.

The Superintendent, with Board approval, will compensate teachers for extra duties performed voluntarily outside the scope of the normal work day and not previously compensated under the other provisions of the collective bargaining agreement at the rate of $36.00, $37.50, and $39.00 per hour, which would include preparation and presentation time as mutually agreed upon.

All teachers must attend Back - To - School Night and evening Parent - Teacher Conferences, as has been past practice. Supervising teacher(s) shall be required as has been past practice, to attend the following listed activities after school and/or evenings; Gym Show, Holiday Program, Science Fair, Art Show, Spring Musical, Graduation.

K. Evening conferences shall be set aside for the convenience for parents who are unable to attend day sessions. These terms must be mutually agreeable to parents, teachers, and the Superintendent.

L. Staff meetings will be held once a month. There will be five half (1/2) hour meetings per school year and five one hour meetings per school year.

A. The Board agrees when possible, to hire only fully certified teachers holding/appropriate certificates issued by the New Jersey State Board of Examiners for every teacher in assignment.

B. The Board may grant teachers with previous teaching experience in this district, upon returning to the system, credit on the salary guide for Board approved teaching experience. Peace Corps, VISTA, or National Teacher Training Corps, work and time spent on a Fullbright Scholarship up to a maximum set forth in the salary guide.

Teachers shall be notified in writing of their contract and salary status for the ensuing year no later than May 15^th.

ARTICLE #6
SICK LEAVE AND OTHER LEAVES OF ABSENCE

C. All teachers shall be entitled to four (4) personal days per school year, or their full time equivalent, for personal, legal business, household or family matters which require absence during school hours. Application to the Superintendent for personal leave shall be made at least (3) days before taking such leave except in an emergency. The Superintendent may require a change of date if granting such leave would result in more than two classroom teachers being absent on the requested day(s). No personal days may be used immediately before or after a school recess. All unused personal leave days shall accumulate as sick days at the end of each school year.

D. Part time teachers shall receive sick and personal days pro rated as per their full time equivalency rounded to the nearest half (1/2) day.

Teachers shall be entitled to the following temporary, non-accumulative leaves absence with full pay:

Up to five (5) consecutive days bereavement leave shall be granted for members of the immediate family and three (3) consecutive days for in-laws.

2. Teachers shall be provided opportunities to visit other schools and to attend meetings or conferences of an educational nature for the development of increased competence beyond that which they may attain through the performance of their assigned duties.

Up to six (6) days at any one time to care for a serious illness involving the teacher’s immediate family or family members living in the same household. Immediate family will include the teacher’s spouse, child, parent, or sibling. Both the Superintendent and Board President, prior to any time being taken, must approve the leave. The Board, at their next scheduled business meeting, must ratify the above referenced approval. In the event of an emergency, the teacher will be charged for any sick days used to care for a family member. Those sick days may be reinstated by action of the Board if deemed appropriate at their next regular business meeting.

If additional time is needed, the employee may take an unpaid leave in accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act. Board approval will be needed for use of accumulated sick time.

One (1) day in the event of the death of a teacher’s friend or relative outside of the teacher’s immediate family. This day will require approval by the Superintendent and Board President, and must be ratified by the Board at their regular business meeting.

In the event of the death of an active teacher, staff member, or student of this system, the Superintendent may grant members of the teaching staff sufficient time off to attend the funeral.


ARTICLE #8
EXTENDED LEAVES OF ABSENCE

A leave of absence without pay of up two (2) years may be granted to any tenured teacher who joins the Peace Corp, VISTA, National Teacher Corps, Project Hope or serves as an exchange teacher to overseas, and is a full time participant in either.
2. The Board may grant childcare or adoption leaves of absence without pay or benefits to employees under the following terms and conditions:
Any tenured or non-tenured employee may request an unpaid leave of absence to care for a newly born or adopted child. If the employee has sick days accumulated, they may be used for this leave until exhausted.
Teachers should make a request for this leave at least 90 days prior to the commencement date of the leave. This 90 day notification requirement may be reduced by agreement between the teacher and the Superintendent in the case of unforeseen circumstances.

Any teacher may return to work within the school year in which the leave begins, provided he or she has requested to do so in the original application for this leave, specifying then the date when he or she plans to return. Any change of date of return within the same school year shall be allowed at the discretion of the Board. Such change may be granted for reasons associated with the pregnancy, birth or adoption.
Any tenured teacher who wishes to extend said leave beyond the school year in which it begins shall make written application to the Board of Education at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the school year.

Tenured employees shall be granted a child care or adoption leave without pay for not more than two years. When the leave is granted, the teacher will return as a tenured employee to a position for which he or she is certified. The position may not necessarily be the position that the teacher left to take a leave but shall be substantially equivalent.

Time on leave does not count towards the tenure of non-tenured employees.
Nothing herein shall be construed to require the Board of Education to grant tenure or to offer a new contract to any non-tenured teacher who would not have otherwise been offered a contract.

Teachers must work at least 90 school days in a given school year before or after their leave in order to be eligible for movement on the salary guide. The use of sick leave days shall not be considered working days for the purpose of determining the number of days worked in a given year.
Any teacher granted a leave of absence under this Article shall have benefits paid for by the Board of Education as per the mandates of the Family Medical Leave Act, New Jersey Family Leave Act and accompanying regulations.

3. Any teacher shall notify the Superintendent of her condition as soon as possible. If she elects to remain in her position, she may be required to submit periodic certification of her continuing fitness to perform her duties. Notification of any teacher’s intention to take leave associated with pregnancy shall be in writing, specifying the date on which she intends to begin her leave(s), maternity/ disability, family leave and childcare leave, and the date on which she wishes to return to work. This notification must be made at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the leave.
During the time a teacher is on leave, be it Maternity Disability, Family Leave or Child Care Leave, the teacher is eligible to use any accumulated sick time. Leave may be taken without pay in the event the teacher does not have accumulated sick leave.
Should the anticipated period of disability occur early in the school year and therefore could substantially disrupt the educational process, it may be in the best interests of all parties for the leave to start at the beginning of the school year.
The commencement date of maternity disability leave may be anytime prior to birth. The Board recognizes that pregnancy does not necessarily disable a teacher and thus no teacher will be required to take unpaid leave of absence for pregnancy.
At the end of the disability period, the teacher may take up to twelve weeks family leave under the New Jersey Family Leave Act.

A leave of absence without pay of up to one (1) year may be granted to tenured teachers for reasons of personal or family health. Additional leave may be granted at the discretion of the Board.

An employee on leave of absence may return upon expiration of the leave when there is a position available for which the employee is qualified. Application to return from leave of absence should be filed with the Superintendent not later than March 15^lh preceding the September of the year of return.

All extensions or renewals of leaves shall be applied for and granted in writing.

To pay the full cost of tuition and other reasonable expenses incurred in connection with any courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, in-service training sessions, or other sessions which a teacher is required and/or requested by the administration to take. To pay the reasonable expenses (including fees, meals, lodging and/or transportation) incurred by teachers who attend such sessions.

The Avon Board of Education recognizes and encourages the pursuit of graduate education related to the professional responsibilities of its teachers. To encourage further professional development, teachers enrolled in an administratively approved course will be paid tuition grants for up to 9 graduate credits per summer session and six graduate credits per fall and spring semester, subject to the following conditions below. Courses must be related to the professional responsibilities of the teacher.

All courses must be taken at schools accredited by the New Jersey Department
of Education, New Jersey Department of Higher Education, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education, or in the case where the institution is in another state, approval of that state’s accrediting agency.

Tuition reimbursement is available to all teachers who have served at least one full school year in the district. Teachers must remain in the employ of the Avon Board of Education for 2 years after course completion or reimbursed tuition will be due back to the Avon Board of Education. If the teacher’s departure from the district is due to non-renewal of contract by the Board of Education then reimbursed tuition will not be considered due back.
Request in writing must be received on the form designated by the Superintendent and shall include a course description. The Superintendent may request additional information, if necessary. In order to be approved by the Superintendent, requests must be received by:

April 15 for the Summer Session
August 1 for the Fall semester
December 1 for the Spring Semester

Approval by the Superintendent shall be in writing prior to registration. Within 8 days of the above listed dates, teachers will be informed regarding what percentage of reimbursement they will receive, based on the allotted amount and the number of requests.

For the duration of this contract, the Board will pay a maximum of the prevailing average of the per credit cost of graduate tuition Rutgers University (New Brunswick), Georgian Court University, and William Paterson University.

The teacher must achieve a minimum grade of a “B” or its equivalent to be eligible for tuition reimbursement.

The total amount to be paid for teachers for the 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years shall be $12,000 per year. One third of this amount will be encumbered for the summer session, one third for the fall session and one third for the spring session. Teachers will receive a prorated amount per credit, based on the number of requests in any given semester. If requests do not exceed the allotted amount, teachers will receive full reimbursement at the Rutgers/Georgian Court/William Paterson average rate. Any unused amount in any given semester will be divided amongst the remaining sessions within the same fiscal year. If unused funds remained after the final semester of the school year, monies will be equally pro-rated amongst teachers who received less than full reimbursement in previous semesters. Unused funds cannot be carried over from one fiscal year to the next.

Reimbursement can occur only after receipt of the following:
Receipted bill for tuition (cancelled check, or bill marked “paid.”)
Official transcript of grade showing a “B” or better as an earned mark.
Copy of Superintendent’s approval.
These items must be received by:
September 10^th for Summer courses
January 10^th for Fall courses
June 10^th for Spring courses.

Tuition reimbursement shall be made to the teacher at the payroll following the next Board of Education meeting after the receipt of above records.

It is the teacher’s responsibility to adhere to all deadlines and to provide all necessary documentation.

Those teachers who have earned any additional credits or degrees shall be compensated at the rate above the Bachelor Level on the attached salary guide. Teachers earning their MA or M A+30 must submit notification and transcripts to the superintendent's office by August 1 5 to be eligible for movement on the guide as of September 1. Alternatively, teachers may submit notification and transcripts to the superintendent's office by January 15^th to be eligible for movement on the guide as of February 1.

ARTICLE #10

C. All current eligible employees will maintain their dental coverage as written by Horizon and the Board Secretary shall administer the plan. All employees working over (20) hours per week will be offered dental coverage subject to eligibility requirements of the N.J.S.H.B.P. Single dental coverage will be offered for those employees who are not tenured. Full family dental coverage will be offered once tenure is achieved.

Any employee hired after September 1, 2001 and working less than twenty (20) hours per week will not be eligible for any medical, prescription, or dental coverage.

E. As to rejoining or adding spouse/dependents to the plan due to a change in circumstance or hardship outside of the open enrollment periods (as specified by NJSHBP) N.J.S.H.B.P. would ask for proof of change or hardship involved and could process the change on a monthly basis, as needed, after receiving proof of the event.

F. If the Board deems it desirable to change plans, the plan put into place will be equal to or better than the existing plan.

B. The Public Employees Federal Credit Union deduction plan:
1. Shall be administered by Public Employees Federal Credit Union.

2. Shall be voluntarily authorized in writing by the employees.

Employees with twelve (1 2) or more continuous years of service in the Avon-by-the-Sea School District shall be compensated at $100 per day multiplied by the accumulated sick leave standing to the credit of the employee upon voluntary retirement. Written notice of retirement must be provided to the Board at least sixty (60) days prior to termination of employment. The amount accruing and payable under the provision shall be reduced by any deduction required by law. The Board has the right to increase the buy back rate without establishing a precedent.

B. Any individual contract between the Board and an individual unit member, heretofore and hereafter executed, shall be subject to and consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. If any individual contract contains any language inconsistent with this Agreement, this Agreement, during its duration shall control.

Copies of this Agreement shall be printed and expenses shared by the Association and the Board, after agreement with the Association on format, within thirty (30) days after the Agreement is signed. Copies shall be presented to all unit members now employed or hereafter employed.

B. Supplemental Position Schedules are attached.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective representative on this 18th day of July 2007.

AVON BOARD OF EDUCATION AVON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

By:___________________________ By:______________________________
Robert Shafer Natalie Zenkert




By:___________________________ By:______________________________
Kenneth Child Arelene Ahearn




By:___________________________ By:______________________________
Laura Davey Joanne Langon



Attested by:

_____________________________ _______________________________
Amy S. Lerner, Board Secretary John B. Magrini, President