DUMONT — The teachers' union and the Board of Education have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, more than a year after the previous contract expired in June 2018.

Dumont Education Association President Kathleen Arlin said a memorandum of agreement with the school board has been signed on a new contract that would run retroactively from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2021.

Arlin would not disclose details, saying salary guides for the district's teachers must be completed and checked, and then the contract has to be ratified by the union membership.

"I haven't had a ratification meeting yet, so I don't want my members to find this out by reading about it in the newspapers," Arlin said. "I will say we're happy with the settlement and it was fair."

Arlin said she would like to see the ratification happen at the end of the month.

Salary guides will reflect new salary steps, which are the incremental salary increases based on a teacher's experience and education. Whatever money remains after the salary step-up will be put into salary increases across the board for all educators in the district and reflect the new contract's being retroactive.

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Despite the contract's taking more than a year to settle, the situation was more amicable for both sides than it was with the most recent three-year contract, which ended in 2018.

That contract agreement was actually reached in May 2017, after about two years of sometimes contentious negotiations that required intervention by a state-appointed super-conciliator.

Arlin said there were sticking points in the recent contract negotiations over issues such as salaries and health benefits, but she appreciated that "compromise on both sides" made negotiations go more smoothly than the previous effort.

Dumont Schools Superintendent Emanuele Triggiano said of the new contract, "Thank God. I couldn't be happier. I was always in favor of getting this done. We have great people working here. If they're good with it, then I'm good with it."

The Dumont school district has 2,600 students. The Dumont Education Association represents about 225 certificated staff members, with custodians and secretaries also part of the DEA, but their contracts are separate.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com