NEWARK -- A New Jersey charter school ordered to shut down at the end of June may close its doors without paying the final two months of teachers' salaries, state and local union leaders say.
Teachers at Merit Preparatory Charter School in Newark are not unionized and have individual employment contracts stipulating they work during the 10-month school year and have their paychecks spread out over the 12-month calendar year, according to the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey chapter.
Some of those teachers' contracts began in September 2016 and run through August 2017, with as much as $12,000 per teacher scheduled to be paid over July and August, the union said.
The school, however, has informed teachers they will not receive their scheduled paychecks in July and August after it closes on June 30, a breach of teacher's contracts, said John Abeigon, president of the Newark Teachers Union.
"The bottom line is these people are employees in the state of New Jersey, they worked and they are owed and entitled to this money," said Abeigon, who along with the AFT-NJ is helping the teachers try to secure their full pay though they are not union members.
Michael Cosack, chair of Merit Prep's governing board, insisted teachers will be paid all money they are contractually owed, despite the unions' claims.
"We love our teachers," Cosack told NJ Advance Media. "We would like to give them as much money as we can to reward them for the work that they have done."
Cosack could not explain how teachers will receive the July and August payments, though, and referred specific questions about compensation to Lee Nunery, an independent trustee assigned to oversee the school's closing. Nunery referred questions to the board's attorney, who did not return calls seeking comment.
Matchbook Learning, the non-profit management group that runs the school, did not respond to a request for comment.
School documents obtained by NJ Advance Media, including a teacher contract, termination letter and email from the school principal, confirm that Merit Prep informed teachers they will not receive pay after June 30.
The charter school is considering giving teachers a retention stipend, a form of bonus described as "a percentage of their current gross annual salary," according to the documents. However, teachers would not be eligible for the stipend if they missed more than two days of work after March 27, according to the documents.
The documents do not specify how much the stipend would be, and Cosack would not say if the stipends would be equal to what teachers would have received in their July and August paychecks.
Even though the school is closing, it's still required to pay teachers for the time they have already worked, said Robert Smith, an employment lawyer who reviewed a Merit Prep teacher contract and termination letter at NJ Advance Media's request.
"I would take the position that these people are entitled to the balance of their compensation," Smith said.
Merit Prep opened in 2012 and has about 381 students in grades 6-9, according to state data. It employed about 40-45 teachers at the start of this school year, according to the AFT-NJ.
In March, the state Department of Education ordered the school to shut down on June 30, citing Merit Prep's poor standardized test scores, which are among the state's lowest.
The school's teachers were subsequently told they would not be paid in July and August and turned to the Newark Teachers Union for help because they had no other recourse, Abeigon said.
The case underscores a lack of accountability in charter schools run by outside management companies, said Nat Bender, the AFT-NJ's spokesman.
"If they do not pay the teachers what they have earned, who is responsible?" Bender asked.
Earlier this month, AFT-NJ president Donna Chiera sent a letter to acting state Education Commissioner Kimberley Harrington asking the state to compel Merit Prep to pay its teachers.
"Legal action action against Matchbook Learning could be costly and at (teachers') own expense," Chiera wrote. "They reached out to us seeking assistance through a channel where they could voice concerns without fear of retaliation."
The Department of Education received the letter but declined to comment on the contracts at Merit Prep.
A charter school closed by the state is still obligated to make any outstanding payments to vendors or staff as required in its contracts, spokesman Mike Yaple said.
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.