Randolph schools, teachers agree on new contract

The Randolph Board of Education and the Randolph Education Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, according to a Randolph School district spokesperson.

Board President Tammy MacKay and REA co-presidents Doug North and Nick Lios have signed a tentative settlement for a new contract that would be retroactive to 2014, the parties confirmed in a joint statement released on Thursday.

Randolph Superintendent of Schools David Browne stated that the previous teacher’s contract ended on June 30, 2014, but the district has continued to operate under its terms, and will continue to do so until the new contract is ratified by REA members and formally approved by the board.

North and Lios said they appreciate the efforts of the board to work with the REA to reach an agreement that is fair to all parties and also recognizes the hard work of the teachers.

“We want to thank the board for negotiating in good faith with us to reach this agreement and hope to ratify it with our union members in September,” they wrote in the joint statement. “Our REA members are excited for the 2015-16 school year.”

“The Randolph Board of Education values all of the district’s teachers and recognizes the importance of everything they do for township students,” MacKay said. “The board and the REA worked very hard to come to a fair and amicable settlement and are looking forward to the 2015-16 school year.”

Details of the contract will be released publicly after ratification and approval.

In other district news, the board announced its unanimously-approved appointment of Randolph High School English teacher Benjamin Horwitz as the new supervisor of humanities for grades 9 to 12.

Horwitz replaces Jonathan Olsen, who was recently appointed as the district’s new director of secondary education-innovative learning specialist.

“Mr. Horwitz has been a stellar teacher of English at our high school for five years,” Browne told the board at its meeting July 21. “We are excited for him to begin his new role as a district administrator and are confident that he will help improve our high school humanities program.”

After teaching English at Vernon Hills High School from 2006 to 2010, Horwitz was hired as an English teacher at Randolph High School where he also taught public speaking and coached the speech and debate team. He also served as vice president of outreach for the New Jersey Forensics League from 2012 to 2014 and is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English.

Horwitz, a resident of Morristown, began his new assignment on July 22 at an annual salary of $99,966.