Teachers Union Threatening Legal Action Due To Credentials Of New Athletic Coordinator Positions

NorthJersey.com, Matthew McGrath

http://www.northjersey.com/topstories/wayne/Teachers_union_challenges_Wayne_on_high_school_athletic_coordinators.html

The state teachers union is threatening to take the Wayneschool district to court claiming two athletic coordinator positions created this summer don’t require supervisory credentials in violation of state law.

The two positions, called site coordinator for athletics and student activities, were created as part of a reorganization of high school athletic departments initiated by Superintendent Raymond Gonzalez. A single athletic director, a new position, replaced the previous system in which each high school, Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley, had salaried athletic directors.

But because the district didn’t require supervisory certification as a job qualification, the Passaic County executive superintendent, Robert Gilmartin, rejected the district’s request to create the positions, even though people already had been hired to fill them.

 Richard Loccke, a field representative for the New Jersey Education Association, said in a letter to the district Thursday that the teachers’ union could take action to compel the district to correct the qualifications for the site coordinator posts.

 “We require an explanation for this state of affairs and, failing an adequate explanation, will be forced to seek legal redress,” Loccke stated in the letter.

Gonzalez said the district is working with Gilmartin, the county superintendent, to revise the job descriptions, so that they can meet state requirements. The two men hired for the positions will continue to work as athletic coordinators, Gonzalez said.