1980 Teacher Contract

      Among all the people who shared the local athletic fields with me growing up were Robert Sullivan and Jim Stroker. They occupied the low paying and highly important positions of coach/umpire. Mr. Sullivan was a baseball coach of mine and also turned up as a basketball referee all over town. Jim Stroker was a baseball umpire during my time in the Ridgewood Recreation summer softball league. If the contract below is any guide they likely received very little in monetary remuneration for their efforts. Though I remain very grateful for all the energy they put into their jobs.

      By being coaches, umpires, and referees they assured us of a fair game, which meant our efforts would be judged honestly. They both recognized that many life lessons can be learned through participation in athletics.

     Robert Sullivan hired many of the teachers who made my journey through K-12 memorable. His namesake son attended K-12 with me. Bob was a chip off the old block as the saying goes. He knew he was being watched by all the teachers. If he made one slip up his Dad's home number was in the phone book and his work number was the Ridgewood Board of Education. As far as I know nobody ever needed to call attention to Bob being insubordinate. On the contrary, he made it easier on the teachers. I can recall being in the sixth grade together and we had a new teacher Miss Jensen. Of course, she was hired by Bob's Dad. On the first day of class she was tasked with forming a Safety Patrol squad. Bob helped her out by telling her that I had been a Safety Patrol Captain the previous year. I'll never forget how her face lit up in a smile, then she asked me if this was true and if I would be Captain again. I didn't let her down and her first day on the job was made less burdensome by Bob's quick thinking. He intuitively knew that she would have at least one successful outcome on her first day of teaching at a new school.

     Jim Stroker was from the east side of town and graduated RHS in 1970. He taught at Benjamin Franklin Junior High School for over 35 years. Here is the contract he signed in 1980.