Perth Amboy Teachers and Staff protest in front of City Hall 1/28/20 *Photo by Paul W. Wang

Press Release 1/24/20

PERTH AMBOY – More than a year of negotiations has culminated in a stand-off over the Perth Amboy Board of Education’s scheme to fund higher salaries for new teachers by drastically cutting step increases for those with more than 10 years’ experience. Now teachers and school employees say they will take their demand to end the virtual pay freeze directly to the Board, with a rally at City Hall Circle at 4 p.m. on January 28. 

“The Board is playing a ‘divide and conquer’ game over our contract, and holding our schools hostage,” said Patricia Paradiso, president of the Perth Amboy Federation of Teachers (PAF-AFT), which represents the district’s 1600 teachers and school staff. “The truth is, competitive salaries for new teachers don’t have to come at the expense of experienced teachers. That’s a false choice. This Board is trying to pit teacher against teacher. The people who will suffer are our students.”

“Our union is willing to look at the salary guide and problem-solve with the Board,” Paradiso said, noting that the Perth Amboy district, unlike many in New Jersey, saw an increase in state funding in 2020.  “The money is there. But just look at what the Board has been spending it on. A $30,000 bonus for the superintendent, more than many of our custodians make per year. Six-figure salaries for his assistants. A pricey renovation of the superintendent’s office suite. Supt. Roman has a generous car allowance while school staff are struggling to make car payments because the Board has frozen their salaries. The Board’s fiscal decisions reek of the wrong priorities.”

The district lost 91 teachers last year, including the high school teacher of the year, and Paradiso reports that many teaching positions remain unfilled. “This pay stalemate is just another example of the deep disrespect that district leaders constantly show teachers and school employees. No wonder teachers are fleeing this district. I’ve had teachers tell me they don’t want to make a career in a school district that treats us this way,” she said. 

“As a former Perth Amboy teacher and a Perth Amboy taxpayer, I am outraged by the teacher belittling and bashing in Perth Amboy,” said Donna M. Chiera, president of the New Jersey AFT, the state affiliate of the PAF-AFT. “In February 2019, the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Administration called Pat Paradiso ‘Henny Penny’ at a televised public meeting for daring to raise concerns that students were shivering in classrooms where temperatures were below 50 degrees. Last June, nearly 2,000 Perth Amboy students petitioned the Board for better treatment of teachers and an end to high turnover. What a wake-up call. The Board should listen to our students. They should respect the voice of and work in collaboration with those who work with our children on a daily basis, rather than spending resources to work against them.”

The Perth Amboy AFT