Issue 6 of 8
The Teacher Contract
The WOEA contract expired in June 2025. We must restore good faith, settle a mutually agreeable agreement, and make long-term financial planning possible.
The last negotiated contract with our teacher’s union, the WOEA, expired in June 2025. For more than a full year, we have been without an agreement between our community and the teachers we employ to educate our children. Our teachers have been forced to begin job actions that lead to a tense school environment for all involved and the District has been unable to develop the long-term financial planning that is necessary given our current fiscal crisis. This cannot continue. We must restore good faith between both parties and negotiate a mutually agreeable solution with our partners in educating our children. Our educators are highly valued professionals and their skills and knowledge are critical to the quality of education our children receive.
Educators’ salaries and benefits constitute the single largest piece of the West Orange Public Schools budget. Finding a mutually agreeable solution that provides strong compensation and benefits for our teachers and is consistent with the funds our district has available now and into the future is the only way to make a long term plan for the success of our schools.