School officials announced the agreement Friday.
School officials announced the agreement Friday. Chris Cerf in a file photo. (Cie Stroud | For The Star-Ledger)NEWARK -- The city public school district has reached what it is calling an historic agreement with the union representing 900 of its employees.
Newark Public Schools and SEIU 617 - which represents custodial workers, nurses' aides, clerks, program analysts, security personnel, and other employees - have reached an agreement on a performance-based contract, the district announced in a release Friday afternoon.
The contract is the first of its kind in the state, school officials said in the release.
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"Newark Public Schools continue to lead the way in improving its relationship with its workforce," new district Superintendent Chris Cerf said in a statement.
"We recognize that the work done by support staff represented by the Local 617 helps lay the foundation for better educational opportunities for all of our students."
The new contract eliminates an old step-up pay scale, and replaces it with a performance-based evaluation system. The employees will be evaluated each June. The reviews will be used to determine their salary increases and promotions, officials said.
A union representative did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
The contract is one of several changes that have taken place in the state-controlled school system since Cerf took over for previous Superintendent Cami Anderson. With the leadership switch also came an announcement from state and city officials that Newark schools would begin transitioning back to local control.
The new contract goes into effect this school year, which began Thursday.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
