Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

By C. Eugene Emery Jr.

Journal staff writer

BARRINGTON - The School Committee and the teachers union have agreed to a new three-year contract requiring most teachers to pay more for their medical insurance and raising pay by 2 to 2.95 percent annually.

The pact, which doesn't take effect until Sept. 1, also says that both sides will consider renegotiating salary scales if there is a severe cut in state aid. The talks would be designed to avoid layoffs or cuts in programs.

"We hope it doesn't come to that," said Patrick Sullivan, president of the 290-member teachers union, NEA Barrington. "Getting through these difficult times requires some collaboration with the administration, and that's something we have always been receptive to."

School Committee Chairman Patrick A. "Buzz" Guida said the agreement means Barrington teachers will be paying 20 percent of their health insurance premiums, the highest among teachers in the area. Currently, only new teachers pay that amount. Those hired before Sept. 1, 2006 have been paying 15 percent.

With no education funding formula in the state and Rhode Island having the dubious distinction of having the worst economy in the U.S., "you have a perfect storm," Sullivan said this afternoon. "We felt this was something we could work with over the next three years."

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