Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
During the meeting, staff took to the floor to reject a board memo sent to the community in early October, which they said was "misleading." HOLMDEL, NJ — Dozens of Holmdel Township teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians and more filled the auditorium of Holmdel High School at a recent Board of Education meeting to condemn a memo put out by the board in early October, which staff said was "misleading." During the board meeting on Oct. 22, school staff and members of the Holmdel Township Education Association (HTEA) discussed points of a board memo sent to community members on Oct. 1, which went over ongoing teacher contract negotiations that have stalled because the board and association have been unable to reach a contract agreement. In their memo, the board argued that keeping every provision of the current teacher contracts without changes would "exacerbate layoffs, lead to significantly larger class sizes, skyrocketing taxes on our community, and a diminished student experience." The board also said that during negotiations, the association has focused on “preserving costly contract provisions that place a substantial burden on taxpayers, while declining to compromise and seeking additional benefits.” In response, the HTEA countered that many points in the board’s memo were misleading to community members, and said that while the board says they value school staff, “their actions do not show that to be true.” Read: Teacher Contract Negotiations At An Impasse In Holmdel School District “It’s concerning when the board is placing the blame for stalled negotiations on the union,” HTEA President Patty Dasaro said at the board’s Oct. 22 meeting. “Negotiating in good faith is about collaboration, transparency and mutual respect, not public messaging designed to make one side look bad." “I urge the board and really ask you to please rethink the next time you want to use Parent Square to send a message to parents that is potentially inaccurate and definitely disparages our hardworking staff,” Dasaro continued. “It is time for respect and collaboration, not division.” Throughout the night, Holmdel teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, HTEA members and more took to the floor to condemn the board’s memo and object to some of the points made in it, such as how staff spend “non-student contact time” or the possibility of outsourcing custodians. Michael Braun, a second-grade teacher at Village School since 1998, said it was his first time speaking at a board meeting in his 28 years with the district, adding that the board’s memo to parents and staff is what motivated him to speak. In their memo, Braun said that the board made it seem like school staff spend ⅓ of their day not teaching, referring to part of the letter where the board said approximately three hours of staff’s contractual workday is “non-student contact time” that consists of one duty-free lunch period, one preparation period and one departmental planning period. Though these periods are listed as times that staff don’t spend with students, Braun said he often works through his lunch period, sometimes not even leaving his classroom, to do work for his classes. He went on to say that staff planning and departmental periods are also used to do things like make copies, create lesson plans, research, meet with other staff, and speak with parents, adding that he even ran out of time to work during his planning period the day of the board meeting. “There’s an incredible amount that goes into making our schools the outstanding place that they are,” Braun said. “But downtime? That’s not part of it.” Thomas Paul, the head custodian at Village School for the past eight years and a Holmdel School District employee of 21 years, also spoke at the meeting about an idea to outsource custodians — something the board is exploring as a potential solution to ongoing budget challenges, such as a $2.4 million deficit for the 2026-27 school year. On Sept. 25, the district put out a request for proposals seeking bids for custodial and management services, according to records obtained by Patch through an Open Public Records Act request. Bids were due by 10 a.m. on Oct. 15. Though the board is exploring subcontracting as a potential solution for budget challenges, Board Vice President Alison LoPresti told Patch that the board previously offered an alternative salary structure that would avoid the need for subcontracting during negotiations, and that the board’s preference is to avoid subcontracting altogether. “I think it’s important not to overlook the consistency and stability the district’s custodians provide,” Paul said. “How important it is that our students, especially the younger ones, see the same faces day in and day out compared to the revolving door that outside services provide.” According to Paul, 11 of Holmdel’s custodians have been in the district for less than five years, with most of those 11 replacing retired custodians who had multiple decades of service. Outside of those 11 custodians, Paul said five of Holmdel’s custodians range from 5-10 years of service, five range from 11-20 years, and six (including Paul) are at over 20 years of service in the district. “We all know each other,” Paul said. “Most of the students that start at Village School will see the same custodial faces throughout their journey.” “We as custodians are not just the people who go on the roof to unclog roof drains or the people who are driving to the school during declared States of Emergency because we’re essential employees,” he continued. “[Who] exterminate pests that disrupt classrooms, fill in as security guards who assist our officers during the day…who are the painters, assemblers, event setups or breakdowns, or first responders to anything that happens with our buildings, just to name a few.” “We are the very well-known and trusted by your children caretakers of the entire school facility,” Paul said. “And I, for one, don’t believe we can put a price on that.” In response to the concerns raised by staff, Board President Christian DiMare thanked those who came up to speak and said that, as the son of a teacher and a former student of the Holmdel School District, he’s empathetic to what was shared during the meeting and the feelings from staff on the school board’s communication. DiMare went on to say that the board has difficult decisions to make on teacher contracts, and that while the board always looks to be transparent with school staff and families, they also want to be transparent with Holmdel taxpayers, who have communicated fears to the board that they soon won’t be able to afford living in Holmdel if taxes continue to rise. “The taxes have gone up significantly,” DiMare said. “We see what’s going on in public schools. It’s a financial crisis…the board is going through the uncomfortable position of trying to really work hard to create a fair agreement that respects all of our teachers but also will maintain the long-term stability of this district.” "It's a very complicated and fragile process right now," DiMare continued. "We respect all of you [meeting attendees] for coming, and we'll do our best to come to a fair agreement. We're listening to everything you said, and we'll take it into consideration and continue discussions from there." With contract negotiations at an impasse between the board and HTEA, negotiations will move to a formal fact-finding process where a mutually agreed-upon third party reviews the information about the contract proposals and negotiations and makes non-binding recommendations on each side’s proposals. To read the agenda from the board’s Oct. 22 meeting, you can click here. To watch a full recording of the Oct. 22 meeting, you can watch here. Related
