UPDATE - APRIL 25, 2023

The contract has been RATIFIED by BOTH parties!

March 25, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

I am sure that you are looking forward to the weekend to recharge and regroup before beginning another week of school, and frankly, you deserve it. Because of you, the Paterson School District delivers a quality educational experience for Paterson’s children.

That’s why the Paterson Education Association (PEA) was resolute in achieving a contract settlement worthy of your work—and we succeeded. As you heard in our various ratification meetings over the last couple of weeks, this new contract provides us with strong salaries to ensure we attract and retain the best and brightest educators, as well as preserves all other achievements we’ve made in health benefits, length of the workday, preparation time and longevity. In short, this is one of the best contracts we’ve had in many years.

P.E.A. was informed by the duly elected chair of the elections committee, Charles Wilson III, that the ratification results are now official. I am proud to share that the membership overwhelmingly approved our contract during our ratification vote! 1,856 voted YES, and 164 voted NO.

I want to thank everyone for supporting the negotiations team and your patience these last several months as we stood firm in our contract demands. Your patience has paid off, and—as soon as the Paterson Board of Education ratifies it in an upcoming meeting—the District will move forward with the process to sort through retro pay and other details.

Finally, upon hearing the news of the contract ratification, I could not help but immediately reflect fondly on the late Ryan Smith (EHS negotiations team member) and Jennifer Doherty (long-time P.E.A. leader). I am certain that they are smiling down on our success and putting a good word in for the P.E.A.

In solidarity,

John McEntee, Jr.,
President Paterson Education Association