Unions: Teachers Pact in Newark Includes Merit Pay

Newark Teachers Union President Joseph Del Grosso says the contract makes the district's top-performing teachers eligible for merit pay up to $12,500.

He says the performance pay will be funded mostly from a $100 million donation made to Newark's schools by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The contract also includes a provision allowing teachers to review the performance of each other.

The union's executive board approved the contract Tuesday. Del Grosso and Superintendent Cami Anderson are due to sign the pact Thursday. Union members will vote Oct. 29.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A union spokesman says a tentative contract has been reached for teachers in the Newark public school system.

American Federation for Teachers New Jersey spokesman Nat Bender said Wednesday that a deal has been reached, but he did not have further details.

With a proliferation of charter schools taking students away from traditional public schools in New Jersey's largest city, it seems likely that there will be large-scale layoffs of district teachers in coming years. The contract could address how that's handled.

There were also reports during negotiations that the contract could be the first in New Jersey to tie the pay of public school teacher partly to how well their students perform.