Volume LXIX, Number 52
May the
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Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Weddings . . . . . . . . . . 21
New Teachers’ Contract
Bring You Health and Happiness and Bring Us All One Step Closer to Peace on Earth Closing Out 2015 With A Kipling and Yeats Bicentenary . . . . . . . . 14 Princeton Landmark Army & Navy Store Closing After Almost 70 Years . . . . . 20 Girls Ruled Local Sporting Scene in 2015 . . . . . . 24 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 23 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classified Ads . . . . . . . 33 Music/Theater . . . . . . 21 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 33 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Service Directory . . . . 32 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Princeton 2015: A Year of Progress and Protest As town and University plans and projects progressed, protests helped define the year 2015. A sit-in by Princeton University students citing Woodrow Wilson’s racist beliefs drew national attention to the campus and the town. There were additional demonstrations in reaction to national events such as the murders at a church in Charleston, South Carolina and the more recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. On the University campus, at Hinds Plaza, and at marches through town, there were silent and not-so-silent demonstrations in support of gun control and related issues. The town lost prominent personalities John and Alicia Nash, and Michael Graves this year. The fight continues over whether the Institute for Advanced Study can build faculty housing on land the Princeton Battlefield Society considers sacred. And a campaign to make the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood a historic district picked up steam toward the end of the year. Three years since consolidating the former Borough and Township, Princeton has made major progress in harmonizing policies and ordinances. But some issues are still on the town’s “to do” list. According to state law, the town has until the end of 2017 to get the job done. Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert announced in November that she will run for a second term in the next election. Council President Bernie Miller said he will relinquish that post, but will continue to serve on the governing body. Tim Quinn, former school board president, announced that he will enter the Council race. The terms of Council members Jenny Crumiller and Patrick Simon will be up for renewal. While Ms. Crumiller has said she will run for another term, Mr. Simon has not yet decided whether to run for Council or mayor. “I see no need either to rush my own decision or to ramp up a campaign at this early stage in the 2016 election cycle,” Mr. Simon said in an email. “The 2015 general election was only a few weeks ago. Launching so soon after that just feels like a Washington-style permanent campaign, and who needs that? The holidays are a time for all of us to focus on our families. I’ll announce my decision by the end of January. There will be more than enough time to campaign for local office next year.”
New Year
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After almost two years of negotiations,
the school board and the teachers’ union finally, in early July, agreed on a new fouryear contract for Princeton’s public school teachers. From the start of talks in the fall of 2013 between Princeton Public Schools Board of Education and the Princeton Regional Education Association until final settlement, there was much criticism directed at both sides from teachers, parents, students and taxpayers. The agreement, retroactive to July 1, 2014 when the previous contract expired, includes a salary increase of 2.66 percent for 2014-15; 2.67 percent for 2015-16; 2.50
percent for 2016-17; and 2.63 percent for 2017-18. Under the new agreement, unanimously approved by the Board, longevity pay will be eliminated in year four of the contract and incorporated into a new step system. The new contract also calls for teachers to continue to make health care contributions at the tier 4 level under Chapter 79 of New Jersey state law. Teachers who subscribe to the district’s health care benefits program will receive annual health care stipends for years two, three, and four of the contract. The new contract requires two evening
parent-teacher conferences and an additional staff development day each year. “Swatting” Threats
Last spring and this fall, Princeton Public Schools were disrupted by “swatting” incidents, bogus threats of bombs, firearms or other explosives, on ten different occasions. Students, teachers, parents, administrators and police officials shared feelings of frustration and anxiety in the face of what Princeton police chief Nick Sutter called ”acts of terrorism.” Continued on Page 5
IT HAPPENED LAST YEAR: Will this Oscar-worthy campus cameo from last February be repeated in 2016? In this week’s Town Talk, people talk about some of the year’s most important issues . (Photo by Emily Reeves)