JERSEY CITY — Honk if you want a ticket!

Motorists driving by teacher protests outside School 4 in Downtown Jersey City have been getting a little present from City Hall if they honk their car horns in support: a $54 ticket.

At least one teacher received a ticket and, according to one source, a police officer was chided by his superiors for blaring his horn while driving by a protest.

The city, which placed electronic signs in front of Schools 4 and 37 on Wednesday warning drivers not to honk, said resident complaints about the early-morning horn blares led to the tickets, which began yesterday. Residents have complained about the honking on the city's Facebook page.

The teachers union, involved in an increasingly nasty contract dispute with the public-school district, said Mayor Steve Fulop is full of baloney.

"The mayor is resorting to scare tactics rather than pick up the phone and see where he can assist," Ron Greco, president of the Jersey City Education Association, told The Jersey Journal.

A city spokeswoman said five have been issued total. The JCEA says any motorists who received tickets can bring them to its office at 1600 Kennedy Blvd.

The union's roughly 4,000 teachers have worked under an expired contract since the start of the school year and have been negotiating a new pact with the school board and district administration. It is not going well, with teachers seeking to pay a smaller share of the $98.9 million the district pays for health benefits (workers pay $19.9 million). For weeks small groups of teachers have led protests outside schools citywide before classes begin.

"The communities in the areas asked the city to stop that specific action," she said. "If someone drives by the teachers and just honks their horn in support and moves on then of course the city doesn't issue tickets."

Courts in Washington and Michigan have ruled honking can be protected free speech.

Fulop has no legal control over the school district but union officials believe he has sway over at least two board members involved in negotiations. A sign outside the JCEA's office has urged Fulop to help settle the contract dispute.

A special school board meeting is scheduled for today at 3 p.m. to discuss the issue.

A Jersey City police officer issuing a ticket to a motorist near School 4.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.