The school board can't finalize a three-year contract with the district's teachers until the administration and board members hear back from the state's School Ethics Commission regarding two potential conflicts of interest, sources said.
In one case, the teacher's union has its office in a building co-owned by the head of the board's Negotiations Committee, Frank Raia.
Usually, the school board's Negotiations Committee appoints one of its members to handle negotiations along with the board attorney.
Since this past fall, Schools Superintendent Jack Raslowsky and Board Attorney Joseph Morano took the lead in contract negotiations with the head of the Hoboken teachers' union, Gary Enrico, as well as a state union representative.
Two weeks ago, Enrico's union finalized their end of a Memorandum of Agreement specifying the terms of a new teacher contract that would run for the next three years.
But sources say that the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) may not be applicable because the school board is waiting to hear from the state whether the members of the board's Negotiations Committee have conflicts of interest.
Before the April school board elections, the Negotiations Committee consisted of board members Frank Raia, Theresa Minutillo, and Rose Marie Markle. After the elections and reorganization, Minutillo and Markle were replaced by board member Anthony Romano and newly-elected Board member Phil DeFalco.
However, DeFalco could not engage in negotiations or sign a potential MOA due to a conflict of interest stemming from having district teachers who are customers at his Hoboken-based accounting firm.
That leaves only Raia and Romano to oversee the negotiations, although sources say Raia is one of the members seeking clarification on a possible conflict of interest.
At the first Negotiations Committee meeting since the reorganization, Raia and Romano signed a prepared MOA which sets forth all of the details of new teachers' contract, sources said.
According to Enrico, the teachers' union ratified the same MOA in a vote two weeks ago.
Teacher raises are rumored to be 5 to 6 percent.
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Outgoing committee members Rose Marie Markle and Theresa Minutillo complained last week that there were never any committee meetings held to discuss the contract negotiations before the reorganization.
A seperate source said, "They're trying to shove this contract down our throats."
Markle and Minutillo claim that they asked to see the document while members of the committee, but weren't allowed to see it.
Raslowsky said last Wednesday that Minutillo, who chaired the committee, neglected to call meetings and that she agreed with his leading the talks.
But Minutillo said last week that while Raslowsky asked to begin discussions, she never realized he would be heading the negotiations.
Conflict of interest?
Raslowsky confirmed last week that the district submitted two letters to the state's School Ethics Commission two weeks ago for determinations of certain board issues.
He could not specify which board members were included or for which reasons.
However, various sources close to the situation say the Raia and DeFalco are the members in question.
Raia was part of the committee before and after the reorganization, even though the teachers' union has an office in commercial space that Raia co-owns.
The union office is part of the Citadel condominium/commercial building on Seventh Street, a building Raia co-owns.
Enrico said last week that they are soon moving out of that space, and Raia said that he is currently in litigation to separate from his partner as the owner of that space.
According to Enrico, moving the office has nothing to do with the connection to Raia. He said the union never dealt directly with Raia concerning their office in the first place.
Raia said last week that he could not comment on matters affecting teacher negotiations. He refused to confirm or deny that he was the subject of one of the letters to the state, citing confidentiality that is part of the negotiation process.
He did say that if the contract was put to a vote last week, he would have abstained.
Raia was also the treasurer of the Parents For Progressive Education ticket in the April 15 school board election, a slate that got the backing of the Hoboken school teachers and saw the elections of DeFalco, current board president Frances Rhodes-Kearns, and board member Carmelo Garcia.
The School Ethics Commission met last week. According to a spokesperson, they didn't have any items on the agenda concerning Hoboken; they will meet again on July 22.
Meanwhile, negotiations seem to be at a standstill until the board gets a determination.
Rhodes-Kearns said last week that the board may break the Negotiations Committee into three separate teams, each working on one of the negotiations with the district's three unions, due to the various conflicts some board members have.
Raises on par
Several high-level district personnel, including Morano, were rehired with basic raises at last week's meeting, all either 3.5 or 4 percent.
People close to the teachers' contract negotiations said last week that the raises included in the MOA are between 5 and 6 percent, with some give-back items required from the teachers.
They also believe that the other two groups in negotiations, administrators and custodial workers, are upset that their raises are reportedly closer to 3.5 percent.
For questions or comments on this story, e-mail tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.
SIDEBAR
The Board of Education is often conflicted because of votes related to family relatives, business associates, and other connections.
At the board's June 10 meeting, five board members had to abstain due to a conflict of interest on a vote regarding the district's treasurer (who is also the city's tax collector) Louis Picardo. They were voting on a potential raise for Picardo.
The three of the four remaining board members who were allowed to vote negotiated Picardo's potential raise with the administration.
Raslowsky admitted that for the last two years, they paid Picardo $5,000 for doing little besides signing his name on documents. But Raslowsky added that it was the administration's fault for not asking Picardo to do more.
A raise would have brought Picardo's salary to $7,500.
The three negotiating board members said they believed a raise was unnecessary. So they decided not to give him a raise at all, and instead voted to expand his duties for the upcoming school year at the same pay. - TJC
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