May 22, 2025

A conversation with MCEA President Denise King

Interviews by Kimberly Crane  

What does labor management collaborative (LMC) work mean in Monmouth County?    

The Monmouth County Education Association (MCEA) has been working collaboratively with our locals, school superintendents and Monmouth County’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Lester Richens, for about nine years. Dr. Richens and I envisioned creating a program that bridged the gaps between our locals, administrators and the county office of education. 

We developed a series of collaborative professional development workshops for local leaders, superintendents and Monmouth County education officials. Our workshops were attended by some districts, but not as many as we would have liked. Last year we began using New Jersey Labor Management Collaborative (NJLMC) methodologies to plan our events. 

Maximizing meaningful conversation  

The NJLMC format formalized our meeting structures and prompted us to change a few protocols that were holding back in-depth collaboration. For example, stakeholder groups originally all sat at the same tables—district leaders sat with other district leaders and local association leaders sat with other local association leaders. With LMC protocols, district and local association leaders now needed to sit together. This facilitated the ability for representatives from different groups to learn the structure and easily share ideas.  

Something as simple as paying attention to seating arrangements can foster relationships built on equal footing and trust. School stakeholders quickly realized the benefit of having an opportunity to have a conversation with local leaders and superintendents in a safe space to collaborate. 

Increasing attendance and buy-in 

Our professional development sessions are now very well attended. Many times, we see locals, districts and individuals at our events that we don’t regularly see elsewhere in the county. Our NJLMC-structured events are getting districts to buy-in on the collaborative process and work on more in-depth issues together. 

 Recently, we offered a session on the Line of 1-7 decision-making process. We had a great turnout! Many locals said that they felt it was worthwhile and productive because of the opportunity to take an action back to their district leadership and school problem solving teams. 

LMC = Results 

One of our locals started off this school year with some big issues, but they now have new leadership on the board side and a new superintendent. They have a great collaboration going on, which is really the goal. I think that particular group was eventually able to resolve all outstanding grievances. 

During one of our workshops, I shared contract language from my local with a superintendent that was investigating improving their district’s contract. They were more than happy to compare wording. I don’t know if they will end up using any of it, but the channels of communication are open. This is a big change from the way things used to be in educational leadership. 

Building collaborative teams 

We are supporting and maintaining a system of collaboration that is built on trust. Just one successful action between school leadership teams may lead to consistent collaboration on other issues. That first step of getting people in a room together to talk to each other is incredibly important. Those conversations can be taken back to the local and expanded for greater impact.  

I’d like to see even more locals and district administrators join the LMC process in Monmouth County. It’s an important initiative that all of our locals can benefit from, regardless of where they are with labor relations. 

An executive county superintendent’s perspective on NJLMC

June 6, 2025•

Dr. Lester W. Richens with Kimberly Crane  

What does labor management collaborative (LMC) work mean to you as a county superintendent of schools?    

Labor-management collaborative work represents a shared commitment to student success through partnership, mutual respect and open dialogue. As a county superintendent, I see this collaboration as a foundation for building trust between district leadership and educators, fostering environments where innovation and continuous improvement can thrive. It’s not just about resolving conflicts—it’s about proactively coming together to find common ground and work toward shared goals, particularly when it comes to improving student achievement. 

What has been your experience with this work? 

Over the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of co-leading a joint professional development initiative between the Monmouth County Round Table and the Monmouth County Education Association (MCEA). Alongside MCEA President Denise King, we’ve developed programs designed to strengthen collaboration between local superintendents and local union leaders.  

In more recent years, this initiative has evolved into participation in the New Jersey Labor Management Collaborative. With the guidance of NJEA facilitators, we’ve taken steps to deepen trust and build strong, sustainable partnerships across districts. The results have been encouraging—we’ve seen a shift toward more constructive communication, a focus on shared leadership and a genuine enthusiasm from both management and labor representatives to work together for the benefit of students. 

What would you like to see happen with this work in the future? 

Looking ahead, I’d like to see this work continue and become a model for other counties and districts across the state. Most importantly, I hope we continue to keep the focus where it belongs: on student achievement and the belief that strong partnerships between labor and management create stronger schools. The collaborative approach has already begun to create positive change and I’m excited to see it continue in our educational communities. 

Dr. Lester W. Richens is the executive county superintendent of schools in Monmouth County. Dr. Richens is a life-long resident of Monmouth County and a product of its public school system. 

Kimberly Crane is an NJEA communications consultant and former president of the Highland Park Education Association. She can be reached at kcrane@njea.org.  

For more information on the New Jersey Labor Management Collaborative email Mike Ritzius, NJEA liaison to the New Jersey LMC at Mike@lmcpartnerships.org.