RBR Board of Ed meeting is at 8 PM in the conference room at the board office (building behind the high school to the right)

How much did it cost the tax payers for the services of the "fact finder" that they have decided not to use?

Lost in the debate about collective bargaining rights and the related issues of pay, pensions, and health care coverage is the dialogue about a core issue. There is no clear correlation that better paid teachers produce better educated students.
What the report underscores is how a dysfunctional system of teacher pay rewards educators with little emphasis on merit. Throwing more money at teachers, however, is not the answer to the myriad of problems affecting our schools.Teachers salaries far exceed the wages paid to their counterparts at non-union private schools. Most teachers also received defined benefit pension plans and other benefits not given to their counterparts in private industry. This fact finding will never see the light of day .....

Why doesn't Patch tell us what specific items comrprise the disagreement? The teachers don't have a contract ? Maybe that is because what they are asking for is a non starter. Let the readers decide Patch, don't try to garner sympathy for the union just because they don't have a contract. It's not like they are not being paid. Tell us what the union wants and compare that with what taxpayers are able to pay, don't tell us a sob story about the lack of a contract.

Negotiations are normally conducted with a news blackout rule agreed to by both parties. With that said, the factfinders report is a public document and can sometimes lead to public pressure for one or both sides to make concessions.

School employees never work without a contract. Until a new agreement is reached, all of the provisions of the expired agreement remain in effect. Employees continue to receive salaries, health insurance, sick leave, and all other benefits provided in the expired agreement. That is why it is inaccurate to say that teachers are “working without a contract.”

Note that the median (half make more/half make less) teacher sallary for teachers in NJ is roughly 61k. For current staff, that was attained after aprox 11 years of employment. So using the numbers, 1/2 of the public school teachers in NJ are making between 49k and 61k....in many cases not enough to be able to buy a house in the towns in which they teach.

$49,000 isn't enough to buy a house anywhere near the towns they teach in. Why don't you believe teachers deserve a fair, livable wage? Can you name a career more important?

MissesM ..New Jersey is one the highest paying states for teachers ,your 49K is the low end of the range for salaried teachers .But if you must as a rule of thumb you can qualify for a mortgage by multiplying you're yearly income times 3 1/2 which should put you house price at about 175,000 plenty of starter condo's or homes in Red bank for that price or less ..http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Red-Bank_NJ/sby-1

That's a lot of income to spend on housing, Dentss. People also need to pay for cars, food, fuel, utilities, child care, etc.

One cannot become a police officer, firefighter, doctor, lawyer, or obnoxious internet blogger unless they get an education first - true or false?

Speaking of police, note that the median salary of officers in Red Bank is over 90k/year with about 1/3 of the force making over 100k/year. No disrespect intended to those people who do a fine job but I would not be losing sleep at night over a teacher who is at present making 60k/year after being on the job for 10-12 years.

Dentss, I know you don't spend all of your income on housing. The point I was making was that just because a bank uses a special calculator and tells you that you can afford that much house, doesn't mean you should spend that much on a house. There are other expenses. And most teachers work every summer to make ends meet because they can't afford to pay their bills without supplemental income. They are not paid over the summer! And teachers now pay quite a bit toward their health insurance. My brother is a teacher and he pays close to $6000 annually. That's more than I pay at my corporate job. And if a small town police officer with an associate's degree can make $100K annually, why shouldn't a teacher with a master's degree make $90K?

Okay . . . Average teacher earning $60k/yr. According to generally accepted financial planning principles, up to 28% of gross income can be used toward home expenses (Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance - PITI). In this case that would be $16,800/yr or $1400/mo. Assuming a 2br, 2ba condo in Red Bank would close at $170k and placing 20% down that would leave $136k to be financed over 30 years at approximately a 3.5% interest rate. Monthly principal and interest is $610. Real Estate taxes at about $350/mo, condo fee $150/mo and Homeowner Insurance $100/mo. All in $1210/mo, well within the $1400/mo allocation of 28%.

I would agree with MissesM that $49k/yr annual income is not sufficient to purchase a home in most of Monmouth County. However, that income reflects what a relatively new teacher would earn and most people starting their careers do not purchase a home. Proper budgeting, saving and movement on the guide would eventually lead them to a place to own a home in the area. Especially if the individual has a partner that contributes financially.

Also, I agree with MissesM that teachers, along with any other profession, "deserve a fair, livable wage" for making an investment in their education or trade and excelling at their profession or line of work.

Teachers are responsible for developing our youth and providing them a valuable education that can lead to becoming a Medical Doctor, Lawyer, Police Officer, etc. and even President of this great nation. MissesM is correct on that point too.

Obnoxious internet bloggers may not be required to have an education but they do need to know proper English grammar and have the ability to write. Typically learned in school. And I will name-call anyone who tells me to get off my "pedestal" and accuses me of "drinking the KoolAid."