As Obama Administration pleads for $50 billion bailout for state and local workers including $23 billion for teachers the Associated Press reports on teachers’ supposed dire consequences in New Jersey:
New Jersey teachers are accepting smaller raises in light of the state’s fiscal crisis, early data suggest.
Newly settled contracts reported to the New Jersey School Boards Association show average raises of 3.35 percent for the coming school year. That’s down from a 4.35 percent average for all teachers this year.
“The numbers are starting to reflect the economic realities and that’s what everybody wants at this point,” NJSBA spokesman Frank Belluscio told The Record. “We want to make sure contracts are in line with what the community can afford. We’re very enthusiastic that the downward trend will continue.”
This trend is evident among 33 contracts settled since January. Looking ahead, average raises in these districts drop further to 3.12 percent in 2011-12.