Dunellen Board of Education, and Commissioner of Education of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Intervenor-Appellant v. Dunellen…

Summary

The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed the Chancery Division’s summary judgment, holding that the consolidation of department chairmanships was a matter of educational policy not subject to mandatory arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement, and that the dispute falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Education. The decision affirms the Board’s authority to manage educational policy and requires the matter to be presented to the Commissioner rather than an arbitrator.