(a) An employee may initially discuss a matter which he/she shallidentify as a grievance, with the Immediate Supervisor in anattempt to settle the matter informally. At the request of eitherthe Employee or Supervisor, a building representative and/oranother administrative person (excluding the Superintendentor Assistant Superintendent) may attend this informal meet-ing. This informal meeting is not intended to extend the timelimitations as otherwise set forth in this contract.
(b) In the event the employee is not satisfied by an informal at-tempt to resolve the problem, he/she shall so inform his/herImmediate Supervisor by filing a written grievance within forty-five (45) school days of the event’s occurrence, setting forth theproblems to be considered (with an informational copy to theAssociation). Within five school days after receiving the notice,a formal meeting to discuss the grievance shall be attended bythe Immediate Supervisor and/or another administrative per-son (excluding the Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent),the employee and the building representative of the BTEA. TheImmediate Supervisor shall provide the employee and the BTEAa written statement setting forth his/her decision on the griev-ance which was presented to him/her within five school daysof the meeting. If the employee is not satisfied with the resolu-tion at Level One, the grievances shall then proceed to the nextlevel in accordance with the provisions of this agreement.

4.Level Two - Superintendent
If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition ofhis/her grievance at Level One, he/she may file the grievance inwriting with the Association within five school days after the deci-sion at Level One or ten school days after the grievance was pre-sented, whichever is sooner. Within five school days after receiv-ing the written grievance, the Association shall refer it to the Su-perintendent of Schools. The Superintendent shall render his/herwritten decision within thirty (30) school days of the receipt of thegrievance.
5.Level Three - The Board of Education
If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition ofhis/her grievance at Level Two, or if no decision has been renderedwithin ten school days after the grievance was delivered to the Su-perintendent, he/she may within five school days after a decisionby the Superintendent or fifteen days after the grievance was de-livered to the Superintendent, whichever is sooner, submit the griev-ance to the Board. The Board shall have thirty (30) school days fromthe receipt of the grievance to render its decision.
6.Level Four - Arbitration
(a) If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition ofhis/her grievance at Level Three or if no decision has been ren-dered within five school days of the Board’s decision or tenschool days after the grievance was delivered to the Board,whichever is sooner, the grievant may file a written request withthe Association to submit the grievance to Arbitration. If theAssociation determines the grievance to be meritorious, theAssociation may, within ten school days from the date of thegrievant’s appeal, submit a written request to the Superinten-dent requesting arbitration of the grievance. Grievances con-cerning:
1.Any matter for which a specific method of review is pre-scribed either by law or any rule or regulation of the StateCommissioner of Education or any matter which accordingto law is either beyond the scope of Board authority or lim-ited to action by the Board alone;
2.A complaint of a non-tenure teacher which arises by reasonof his/her not being re-employed;
3.A complaint by any teacher occasioned by appointment to,or lack of appointment to, retention in or lack of retentionin any position for which tenure is either not possible or notrequired; as provided in the Board Policy Manual, revised:December 15, 1975 paragraph 3.9, “Extra-curricular assign-ments are on a year to year basis, independent of teachingcontracts, and do not achieve tenure. Based on recommen-dation of the Superintendent, the Board grants and discon-tinues such assignments as required for the proper functionof the school system. If and when it becomes necessary todiscontinue such an assignment after being held by oneteacher for more than one year, his or her immediate supe-rior will counsel the teacher regarding the reasons for non-renewal of assignment. If such reasons involve inability toperform in the assignment as required, it is understood thatthrough prior counseling the individual will have had theopportunity to meet the requirements of the assignment.”
shall not be deemed to be arbitrable.
(b)Within ten school days after receipt of the appeal to arbitration,the Board and the Association shall agree on an arbitrator, whoshall then be contacted and requested to submit available datesfor hearing the grievance. If the Board and the Association areunable to agree on the selection of an arbitrator, the Associationshall request the Public Employees Relations Commission tosubmit to parties a list of seven names of potential arbitrators.The Board and the Association shall then select, by mutual agree-ment or by a process of alternate striking, an arbitrator fromthe list submitted by PERC. In the event the process of alter-nately striking names is used, the party to strike first shall bedetermined by coin toss.
(c) The arbitrator so selected shall confer with the representativesof the Board and the Association, shall hold hearings promptly,and shall be requested to issue his/her decision within a rea-sonable period of time. The arbitrator’s decision shall be inwriting and shall set forth his/her findings of fact, reasoning,and conclusions on the issues submitted. The arbitrator shallbe without power or authority to make any decision which re-quires the commission of an act prohibited by law or which isviolative of the terms of this Agreement. The decision of thearbitrator shall be submitted to the Board and the Associationand shall be final and binding on the parties.
(d) The cost for the services of the arbitrator, including per diemexpenses if any, and actual necessary travel, subsistence ex-penses and the cost of the hearing room shall be borne equallyby the Board and the Association. Any other expenses incurredshall be paid by the party incurring same.

1.An aggrieved person may be represented at all stages of the griev-ance procedure by himself/herself or, at his/her option, by a rep-resentative selected or approved by the Association. When an em-ployee is not represented by the Association, the Association shallhave the right to be present and to state its views at all stages of thegrievance procedure.
2.No reprisals of any kind shall be taken by the Board, any memberof the administration or its representatives, or any member of theAssociation, any party in interest, any representative, or any otherparticipant in the grievance procedure by reason of such participa-tion.

1.If, in the judgement of the Association, a grievance affects a groupor class of employees, the Association may process such a griev-ance through all levels of the grievance procedure even though theaggrieved person does not wish to do so, such a grievance com-mencing at Level Two.
2.Decisions rendered at Levels Two, Three and Four of the grievanceprocedure shall be in writing setting forth the decisions and thereasons therefore and shall be transmitted promptly to all partiesin interest and to the Chairperson of the Association.
3.All documents, communications, and records used by the Board indealing with processing of a grievance shall be filed in a separateand confidential file and shall not be kept in the personnel file ofany of the participants.
4.All documents, communications, and records by the Associationin dealing with a grievance shall be maintained in a separate andconfidential file by the Association.
5.Forms for filing grievances, serving notices, taking appeals, mak-ing reports and recommendations, and other necessary documentsshall be prepared jointly by the Superintendent and the Associa-tion and given appropriate distribution so as to facilitate operationof the grievance procedure.
6.All meetings and hearings under this procedure shall not be con-ducted in public and shall include only such parties in interest andtheir designated or selected representatives, hereintofore referredin this Article.

a.The daily teaching load in grades K-5 shall not exceed five hoursof classroom instruction and one hour of extra pupil contact.Substitutes shall be provided for teachers of special subjectswhen absent. All professional staff members in grades K-5 shallhave 5 prep periods and 5 lunch periods totaling 500 minutesper week. In no case shall a teacher have a prep/lunch periodof less than 30 minutes. All teachers shall have at least one prepscheduled daily. Special area teachers shall remain primarilyresponsible for the delivery of their special area curriculum.Every effort will be made to arrange teaching schedules so thatteachers in grades K-5 will not have more than 2-1/2 hours ofcontinuous teaching.
b.The daily teaching load in grades 6-12 shall not exceed fiveteaching periods, each of which shall not exceed fifty minutes,except when deemed necessary by the interested Principal andagreed to voluntarily by teacher(s) concerned. The Head Build-ing Representative shall be notified of all such sign-offs afterthey have been obtained. Further exceptions may be made inaccordance with C.5 of the Article.
c.Teachers in grades 6-12 shall not be required to teach more thanthree different subject areas, nor to have more than a total ofthree teaching preparations, except when deemed necessary bythe interested Principal and agreed to by the Head BuildingRepresentative and teacher(s) concerned. When possible, teach-ers shall serve on only one interdisciplinary teaching team ingrades 9-12.
d.Teachers in grades 6-12 shall not be required to teach continu-ously for more than three periods, except when deemed neces-sary by the interested Principal and agreed to by the Head Build-ing Representative and teacher(s) concerned. However, on theschool days that have been reduced in the total length for anyreason, the Administration may change the order of the day’speriods, even though some staff members may have to teachmore than three consecutive periods under the revised dailyschedule.
e.To afford the Administration some flexibility in scheduling ingrades 6-12 (in the event that the Administration may wish toinstitute any non-traditional form of scheduling) the length ofclasses may exceed 50 minutes, provided that no teacher hasmore than five classes (rollbook/instructional groups) whoseweekly total meeting time does not exceed 1250 minutes. Fur-thermore, any weekly instructional schedule must provide ev-ery teacher with a preparation period of at least 40 minutes perday, or preparation time divided into twenty minute segments.Teachers in grades 6-8 shall have five (5) preparation periodsper week and teachers in grades 9-12 shall have six (6) prepara-tion periods per week. Middle School teachers shall have five(5) team planning periods and teachers at the High School shallhave four (4) tutorials/planning periods. The above paragraphin no way rescinds Article V, Section A, paragraphs 2c or d.
f.Each teacher shall be assigned to one period (not to exceed 50minutes) per day, four days a week to a resource room or learn-ing center/station (media or computer room) for tutorial pur-poses or to a team teaching planning period. For these four pe-riods, teachers shall keep a record of students who avail them-selves of tutorial assistance. A procedure for implementationshall be developed. It is understood that the sole purpose of thelog being maintained is to track the use of the tutorial period. Itshall not be used in any way that might be construed as reflect-ing on the performance of the staff members. During these 4periods, teachers shall be assigned to a station. These periodsare predicated upon the 9 period (including lunch) school day.Should the school day be reduced in number of periods, theassignment of tutorial/planning periods cannot take place. Inaddition, any daily schedule must guarantee every teacher atleast one prep period per day. A teacher who has already signeda memorandum of understanding to teach more than 25 peri-ods per week (Article V, C, 5.) cannot be scheduled for a com-bined total of instructional periods and tutorial/planning/ac-tivity periods greater than 30 per week.
g.A zero-period option shall refer to any situation where a teacheris required to teach a course or schedule a related activity out-side the normal school day in order to satisfy his/her contrac-tual obligation.
1.Such employees assigned to these positions shall have theirregular workday adjusted for the equivalent amount of time.
2.In any event, the employees' workload and responsibilitiesshall be assigned in accordance with the provisions outlinedin Article V.
3.Said employees shall not be required to attend any faculty orprofessional meetings which are held beyond the regularteacher workday on days when they are assigned classes out-side of the regular workday.
4.Whenever any such position is assigned as an evening pe-riod to a teacher who has only a part-time assignment duringthe regularly scheduled school day, the employee shall becompensated at the rate of one-fifth of the full-time base sal-ary for that employee. If the teacher assigned has a full sched-ule during the school day, the parties shall meet and negoti-ate appropriate compensation.
h.Traveling teachers shall be notified of their home base schoolas of September 1 and shall be required to comply with the workhours and workload relevant to that school. Traveling teachersshall be required to attend only those meetings scheduled attheir home base school. Traveling teachers shall be providedtransit time between buildings.

1.Both parties recognize that there are operational functions not di-rectly related to the educational process which are performed mosteffectively by members of the teaching staff.
a.These functions include before and after school supervision ofstudents (grades 6-12 only), bus duty, cafeteria supervision(grades 6-12 only), classroom supervision prior to start of in-struction (grades 6-8 only), and other services traditionally per-formed by teachers (hall duty, study hall).
b.In grades 6-12, to insure an equitable distribution of these non-academic services, each teacher shall have no more than 250minutes or 5 periods per week of non-academic pupil contact(See V. A.2.e.), and it shall be limited in nature to those func-tions listed in Article V. B.1.a. Each teacher shall have the op-portunity in May to inform his/her Building Principal of his/her first and second preferences in regard to these non-academicservices. Using this list of preferences as a guide, the assign-ment of these non-academic services shall be made by theBuilding’s Principal or Vice Principal in consultation with theAssociation’s Head Building Representative. Duties shall berotated on a per semester basis.
c.To further insure an equitable distribution of these non-academicservices, a teacher who is being paid for an extracurricular ac-tivity or a non-teaching assignment shall not also be relieved ofschool duties described in this Agreement.

a.Teachers may not be required to collect funds.
b.A teacher shall not be required to compile PTA or Home andSchool Association student lists.
c.A teacher shall not be required to drive students to activitieswhich take place away from the school building, but may do sovoluntarily with the advance approval of his/her Principal. Forteachers authorized by the Superintendent to transport childrenin their own cars, the Board will require that each teacher file inthe Board Secretary’s office a Certificate of Insurance specify-ing $500,000/$1,000,000 coverage. The Board will reimburseeach teacher in an amount not to exceed $100 per year for theadded cost of such additional insurance.

1.Teachers will be permitted to leave after termination of the lastscheduled period for students upon completion of any other as-signed or scheduled professional duties or any other academicallyrelated responsibilities, except in cases that are specified in A.3 andB.1 of this Article. Teachers shall indicate their presence for dutyby placing a check mark in the appropriate column of the facultyroster.
2.Teachers may leave the building without requesting permissionduring their scheduled duty-free lunch period and/or duringpreparation periods provided notice is given to some person des-ignated by the Building Principal.
3.The President of the Association for the term of this contract shallbe relieved of all non-teaching duties within the school day, exceptfor those activities in which all faculty members are asked to par-ticipate. For a newly installed President of the Association (one whohas not been President the previous year), such relief may be de-layed by the Administration, but must begin no later than the be-ginning of the ensuing academic year. In addition, upon approvalof the Superintendent, the President or designee may be given re-leased time to conduct business of benefit to the district.
4.The practice of using a regular teacher as a substitute, thereby de-priving him of his preparation period, is undesirable and shall bediscouraged. In those cases where regular substitutes are not avail-able, regular teachers who volunteer may be used as substitutesduring their non-teaching time. In the absence of volunteers, ateacher may be assigned to serve as a substitute. Volunteers andassigned teachers shall be paid as per Schedule K.
5.Should it appear to be educationally sound, a teacher may exchangehis/her period of non-academic pupil contact for an additional classwith the mutual agreement of the Building Principal.
6.All increases in the length of the school day, as it affects the lengthof each teacher’s work day, (i.e., the total daily time teachers arerequired to be in the school building) will be subject to negotia-tions.

2.The in-school work year of teachers employed on an eleven monthbasis shall not exceed two hundred and seven days.
3.The in-school work year shall include days when pupils are in at-tendance, orientation days, and any other days on which teacherattendance is required.

B.The Association shall have, in each school building, the exclusive useof a bulletin board in each faculty lounge and teachers’ dining room.The Association shall also be assigned adequate space on the bulletinboard in the central office for Association notices. The location of theAssociation bulletin boards in each room shall be designated by theAssociation. Copies of all materials to be posted on such bulletin boardsshall be given to the Building Principal for his approval before post-ing.

C.The Association shall have the right to use the inter-school mail facili-ties and school mail boxes as it deems necessary and without approvalof Building Principals or other members of the Administration. Suchcommunication shall bear signature of officers of the Association. TheBuilding Representative shall be responsible for the distribution ofmaterials to members.

D.The rights and privileges of the Association and its representatives asset forth in the Agreement shall be granted only to the Association,and to no other teacher representative agency.

E.The Board shall develop orientation programs for new teachers andshall afford the Association the opportunity to make a presentationduring the orientation program.

1.Frequency
a.Tenure teachers: a minimum of one visitation per year
b.Non-tenure teachers: a minimum of one visitation per semes-ter, or three per year
c.If a teacher is observed the minimum number of times per se-mester or year, the observations should be separated by two (2)weeks or more.
2.Observations should be at different hours of the school day to per-mit the teacher to be seen in a variety of teaching and child-han-dling situations.
3.A “Record of Classroom Visit” form shall be completed by the ob-server in every case of a formal visitation. The principal’s copy shallbe signed by the teacher and filed in the teacher’s individual folder.One copy of this record shall be given to the teacher.
4.A pre-conference may be held before the formal visitation. An evalu-ation conference shall be held after each formal observation, andthe teacher shall be given the evaluative material at least one dayprior to the conference.

1.Formal annual evaluations of teachers shall be conducted.
2.Such formal evaluation shall include a discussion between theAdministration and the teacher of the teacher’s strengths and weak-nesses.
3.A teacher shall be given a copy of any Classroom Visit or Evalua-tion Report and any other evaluative material within 10 days ofthe observation and at least one day prior to any conference at whichthe evaluation is to be discussed.

1.Personnel records maintained by the Administration should in gen-eral contain the following kinds of material:
a.Academic credentials and personal references, which shouldbe retained permanently. The confidentiality of such documentsmust be protected.
b.Material involving formal evaluation of the staff member. Suchmaterial shall have been discussed with and signed by the em-ployee prior to becoming a part of his/her file under establishedprocedures and should be retained for as long as deemed ap-propriate by the Administration.
c.Other material involving the staff member.
2.Personnel files shall be reviewed annually by the responsible su-pervisor. All official personnel files are located in the central office.A teacher shall have the right to review his/her personnel file an-nually, and should set up an appointment for the review. The teachershall also have the right to submit a written response to anythingin his/her file for placement therein. The response must be sub-mitted within six (6) months of the teacher’s first receipt, or firstreview of the material being responded to, whichever occurred first.

1.The Board and the Association shall encourage an atmosphere ofopen communications between the school system and the public.It is understood and agreed that the Administration will encour-age citizens to resolve any complaints at the lowest level: staff mem-ber, Principal/Supervisor, Superintendent.
2.Complaints from the public involving the performance of a cur-ricular or extracurricular staff member should be discussed infor-mally by the citizen with the responsible Principal. Prior to anyaction being taken on the complaint, the teacher concerned shallbe apprised of the nature of the complaint by his/her immediatesupervisor, and offered an opportunity to respond. Copies of anywritten communication from the public will be given to the staffmember by the appropriate Prinicipal/Supervisor. Any complaintwhich is not satisfactorily resolved will then be submitted in writ-ing to the Superintendent by the complainant. The Superintendentwill make a recommendation for the resolution of the complaintand will forward the recommendation to the Board of Educationand the teacher.
3.The Board shall not entertain questions or discussions in public onany matter involving the performance of a staff member unless ithas had an opportunity to review the written complaint.

2.Full reimbursement of all reasonable expenses will be made to teach-ers who are required or requested by the Administration, or re-quest and receive approval of the Administration, to attend work-shops, seminars, conferences, in-service training sessions, or otherprofessional meetings.
3.A Staff College shall be established as a part of the in-service train-ing program for full-time, non-tenured staff members.
a.First year teachers with standard certificates and all second andthird year teachers shall be required to attend 15 clock hours oftraining per year. These credits are not accruable towards crediton the salary guide. In-servicing scheduled during the workdayshall not count towards the 15 hours. Course requirements shallbe determined by the administration. Courses shall includeClassroom Management and Essential Elements of Instruction.Staff members may elect the order in which courses are taken.Upon approval of the Superintendent, Graduate Level Coursesmay take the place of this requirement. These credits are notaccruable for movement on the salary guide until the GraduateProgram in completed.
b.First year teachers who are being mentored and first yearalternate route teachers are exempt from the 15 credit hourrequirement referred to in XI, B. 3a.
c.Participation in such training is voluntary for tenured staffmembers and maternity leave replacement staff members whohave completed the staff college requirement during their firstthree years.
d.In-service courses relating to instructional issues conductedoutside of the school day/year, will be eligible for one (1) creditfor each twenty (20) clock hours. Such credits shall be applicabletowards advancement on the salary guide for all employees.
e.Staff members who teach such courses shall be eligible to choosebetween receiving credit on the salary guide or receiving astipend for teaching the first time they teach the course.Thereafter, they shall receive a stipend.
4.The following provisions apply to the mentoring process for firstyear teachers.
a.Formal evaluations of the first year teacher shall be conductedin accordance with the State requirements at the end of the 10th,20th and 30th weeks by the building principal, and/or districtsupervisor. Formal classroom observations shall be conductedas per the district policy for non-tenured teacher.
b.Teachers may be required to serve as mentors. In that case, thefollowing provisions shall apply:
1.Mentoring positions shall be posted and interested partiesmay apply through the normal process.
2.If no one applies, the mentoring role shall be assigned on arotating basis.
c.The mentor teacher shall not observe or evaluate the first yearteacher formally. Notes, discussions, employee input or otherdocumentation may not be used in the formal evaluation pro-cess.
d.Fees associated with the training Beginning Teacher InductionProgram shall be paid in accordance with the State requirement.
e.Mentors and mentorees must participate in the district's Men-tor program and attend all mentor/mentoree meetings.

1.Accumulated sick leave shall be eligible for reimbursement at re-tirement at the rate set forth in Schedule L. Retirement shall be de-fined as eligibility to collect benefits upon termination of work inaccordance with the New Jersey Division of Pensions. Eligibilityfor deferred retirement is not considered retirement.
2.In the event of a prolonged illness requiring use of sick day leaves,an employee can use all sick days which have been previously ac-cumulated.
3.All employees shall be notified yearly by September 15 of theiraccumulated sick days as of the closing of the preceding schoolyear.
4.All unused personal and family illness days shall accumulate asunused personal sick days.

1.For personal illness in the immediate family (spouse, child, parent,grandparent wherever living, or any other member of theemployee's immediate household).
Maximum Allowance: 5 days per year
2.For death in the immediate family (spouse, child, parent, brother,sister, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law) or anyother member of the employee's immediate household.
Maximum Allowance: 5 days per occasion
3.For other death in the family, (uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, cousin,brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law).
Maximum Allowance: 1 day per occasion
4.For the purpose of visiting other schools or attending meetings orconferences of an educational nature.
Maximum Allowance: 2 days per occasion

1.Joins the Peace Corps.
2.Joins VISTA.
3.Joins the National Teacher Corps.
4.Serves as an exchange teacher.
5.Is offered and accepts a Fullbright or other approved scholarship.

1.The Board shall grant child care leave without pay to tenured em-ployees because of the birth of a child for a period of no more thanone (1) full school year, plus the balance of the school year in whichthe birth occurred. If a shorter period is requested, the return datemust either be the beginning of the school year, or the beginning ofthe second semester. Non-tenured employees shall be granted childcare leave only for the remainder of the contract year in which thebirth occurred. All such leaves must commence, when possible, onthe first day of a semester and end on the last day of a semester(February 1, September 1).
2.An employee must apply for child care leave at least sixty (60) daysprior to the start of the leave, unless an emergency prevents suchnotice. The request must state the anticipated date of beginning ofthe leave and the anticipated date of return.
3.Any employee who becomes pregnant may at her discretion electto use all or any portion of her accumulated sick leave during anyportion of her pregnancy that her physician certifies she is physi-cally unable to work by applying in writing at least sixty (60) daysprior to the beginning of such leave, unless an emergency preventssuch notice. Such period shall be referred to as sick leave and theemployee shall receive full pay and benefits during said period. Itis required that the employee produce her physician’s certificate insupport of her request for the use of sick leave days. Her physician’scertificate is subject to agreement by the Board’s physician basedupon the employee’s medical records and upon consultation withthe employee’s physician. If after such analysis the Board ofEducation’s physician and the employee’s physician are unable toagree, then the two physicians shall agree in good faith on a thirdimpartial physician, who shall examine the employee, at the Board’sexpense, and whose medical opinion shall be conclusive and bind-ing on the medical issue. Where medical opinion is supportive ofthe sick leave to any employee, the commencement and termina-tion dates thereof may be further extended or reduced for medicalreasons upon an application by the employee to the Board. Suchextension or reduction shall be granted by the Board, provided theemployee produces a physician’s certificate in support of the re-quested change, which certificate is subject to agreement by theBoard’s physician as above provided.
4.Any employee who does not elect to take a child care leave maycontinue to perform her duties as long as physically able to do soand will be entitled to return when her physician certifies that sheis physically able to do so. The period of such absence will bedeemed the same as for any other physical disability, and she willbe entitled to her annual and accumulated sick leave with pay dur-ing the period of disability.
5.Upon return from a child care leave of absence, the employee shallbe reinstated in a position for which he/she is certified.
6.The Board is under no compulsion to continue the employment ofa non-tenured employee beyond the contracted period so long asthe non-renewal of employment is not based solely upon a condi-tion of pregnancy or childbirth . The child care leave period shallnot be counted for tenure purposes.
7.Any employee who has been granted a child care leave of absencewill be advanced a full salary guide step if he/she works morethan ninety (90) teaching days in a given school year. Any daysthat school is closed for emergency reasons (such as snow) duringthe ninety (90) plus days that he/she has elected to work shall notbe deducted from the total days he/ she has elected to work.
8.Child care leave shall also be available to an employee who adoptsa child under the same conditions set forth above. In such a case,the employee shall make application at least sixty (60) days priorto the beginning of such leave, unless an emergency prevents suchnotice. The application of the employee shall be accompanied byan affidavit verifying the adoption, in support of the requested childcare leave dates.
9.In the event that the need for child care leave is negated, the em-ployee may request to return to his/her position at an earlier date.Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent and the approvalof the Board, an employee may leave or return at an earlier datethan initially requested.
10.Upon return from a leave of absence under this Article, the em-ployee shall retain any unused sick leave. Any additional sick leaveshall not accumulate during the period of the leave of absence.
11.If an employee becomes pregnant after the birth for which she hasbeen granted a child care leave and prior to the termination of suchleave, the Board shall, upon request, extend the original child careleave for a maximum of one year, with the provision that the ex-tended return date shall coincide with the commencement of ei-ther the beginning of the school year or the beginning of the sec-ond semester of the school year. Sick leaves shall not apply to thepregnancy subsequent to the birth for which the employee has beengranted child care leave.
12.In the case of miscarriage or stillbirth, the employee may elect toreturn to her position at an earlier date. Upon the recommendationof the Superintendent and the approval of the Board, an employeemay leave or return at an earlier date than provided herein.

1.The teacher has completed at least seven full teaching years of ser-vice in the Bernards Township School District. Such years need notbe consecutive.
2.Such leaves shall be granted to no more than two eligible teachersat any one time.
3.Requests for such leave must be received by the Superintendent inwriting no later than March 15, in such forms as may be mutuallyagreed upon by the Superintendent and the Association. Actionmust be taken on all such requests no later than April 15 precedingthe school year for which the leave is requested.
4.The teacher shall enter into a contract to continue in the service ofthe Bernards Township School District for a period of at least two(2) years after the expiration of such leave . The teacher shall ex-ecute a promissory note equivalent to the payment received whileon leave. This note will be discharged at a rate of fifty percent (50%)after completion of one (1) year of service to the Board, and com-pletely discharged after two (2) years. The teacher shall not be con-sidered to be in violation of this provision in the event that failureto return to employment with the Bernards Township District iscaused by the death of the teacher or the disability of the teacher ascertified by the trustees of the Teacher Pension and Annuity Fund.

1.The total annual premium cost of the major medical insurance mustbe paid in full to the Board Secretary by the retired employee, inaccordance with the insurance company requirements. Further, anypremium increase occurring either during a contract year or in sub-sequent contract years must be paid by the retired employee.
2.The retiree must remain continually enrolled in the major medicalplan. If the retiree does not remain enrolled because of failure topay the premium or for other cause, the retiree is not eligible toreinstate the program.
3.Retired employees may belong to the major medical plan only un-til such time as they become eligible to participate in another majormedical plan through their spouse or other employment.

2.Employees on a ten-month basis, including Instructional Aides andSchool Aides, shall be paid in twenty equal semi-monthly install-ments.
3.When a pay day falls on or during a school holiday, vacation orweekend, employees shall receive their pay checks on the last pre-vious working day.
4.Employees shall receive their final checks and the pay schedule forthe following year on the last working day in June. Final pay willonly be released if all duties have been completed.
5.Any employee who is employed to serve on less than a full-timebasis shall be paid on a pro-rated share of the basic full-time salaryof the position for which said employee is engaged.

1.No increment or part thereof shall be withheld unless a teacher hasbeen evaluated in accordance with Article IX, Teacher Evaluationand Personnel Records, of this Agreement.
2.The immediate supervisor and/or Principal shall not forward anyrecommendation to withhold a teacher's increment or a part thereofthrough the Superintendent to the Board unless at least sixty (60)calendar days prior thereto, and in no case later than June 30 of thepreceding school year in which such action would take effect, thePrincipal has given to the teacher against whom the recommenda-tion will be made, written notice of the alleged cause(s) for the rec-ommendations specifying the nature thereof with such particularsas to furnish the teacher an opportunity to correct and overcomethe same.
3.Once a recommendation is forwarded to the teacher and the Board,the teacher may within ten (10) school days request a hearing.

1.The salaries of all employees in this category are set forth in Sched-ule F.
2.The regular work week shall be 40 hours, including a one hourlunch period. The regular work year is 12 months.
3.The work schedule shall be agreed upon by the Building Principalor Supervisor and the employee(s).
4.Employees required to work beyond 40 hours in one week exclu-sive of their lunch hours shall be paid at one and one half (1-1/2)times the contractual rate.

1.The salaries of all employees in this category are set forth in Sched-ule H.
2.As hourly employees, the schedule for instructional aides shall beassigned in accordance with the needs of the particular program.Employees working longer than four hours daily, shall be entitledto a one hour lunch period. Aides working at least five hours perday will be entitled to receive health benefits. The lunch perioddoes not apply to computation for benefits qualification.
3.The work schedule shall be agreed upon by the Building Principalor Supervisor and the employee(s).
4.Employees required to work beyond 40 hours in one week exclu-sive of their lunch hours shall be paid at one and one-half 1-1/2)times the contractual rate.

BERNARDS TOWNSHIP BERNARDS TOWNSHIP
EDUCATION ASSOCIATION BOARD OF EDUCATION
By_________________________________
By_________________________________By_______________________________
Co-Presidents President
By_________________________________By_______________________________
Secretary Secretary

The Board shall notify School Aides by May 30 concerning their re-employment for the following September.

A.Beginning July 1, 2001 all employees formerly frozen at Step 10 BAshall be placed on Step 11 for the 2001-02 school year and thereafter,progress annually on the guide.
B.Doctoral Degree stipend - $1000

118.4719.3120.24
219.0219.8920.85
319.5820.4821.47
420.1821.1122.12
520.7921.7422.78

04/0505/0606/07

04/0505/0606/07

Note:

A.Beginning July 1, 2001 all employees formerly frozen at Step 10 BAshall be placed on Step 11 for the 2001-02 school year and thereafter,progress annually on the guide.
B.Doctoral Degree stipend - $1000
Note:

A.Beginning July 1, 2001 all employees formerly frozen at Step 10 BAshall be placed on Step 11 for the 2001-02 school year and thereafter,progress annually on the guide.
B.Doctoral Degree stipend - $1000