E. Providence teachers to lose pay hike, committee says
5:28 PM Fri, Jan 02, 2009 | Permalink
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EAST PROVIDENCE -- In an extraordinary announcement, the School Committee today said it will roll back a nearly 5 percent pay increase given to East Providence teachers in May 2007 and start requiring them to pay 20 percent of the cost of their health insurance. The news release from committee chairman Anthony A. Carcieri also said a "buy-back" program is gone. Under the program, the statement said, teachers have been paid more than $5,000 a year if they got health insurance from their spouses' employers. "Desperate times call for desperate measures," Carcieri said in the statement. "On Oct. 31, we had $4.5 million in bills we couldn't pay. It's only gotten worse since then. If we don't stop the blood loss now, we'll owe $9 million next October, and the schools will simply stop functioning. This is a death spiral. We've got to stop it." The School Committee and teachers union hit a negotiations roadblock on Oct. 29, a couple of days before the last contract expired. Mediation followed, but without agreement. The city has about 500 teachers. An arbitrator in the teachers contract disagreement last week agreed in a nonbinding decision with the city manager's view that East Providence's financial woes stood out from those of other communities in Rhode Island. "Seldom, if ever, has the neutral member of the panel encountered a school system in greater financial difficulty," arbitrator Michael C. Ryan wrote. "Not only is the city somewhat hamstrung by statute from raising revenue through taxation, but the department's longstanding deficit has been compounded by a once-in-a-generation national economic crisis that began only a few months ago [and] is projected to extend years into the future." Ryan said there should be no pay increases this year and that teachers should pay part of their health insurance coverage cost. He did take the union's side on other issues. The School Committee and the union had presented proposals to Ryan's panel. The committee wanted to reduce the base salaries of its teachers by 5 percent and make them pay a 35-percent share -- 50 percent for new hires -- of their health insurance costs. Currently the teachers contribute nothing. The committee also wanted to increase the teachers' work year and rid the district of the buyback clause. The union did not call for immediate salary increases in its proposal but did call for increased stipends for coaching positions. It called for setting up a joint committee to study citywide employee contributions to the cost of health insurance. Union representatives asserted to the arbitration panel that the financial problems are "self-inflicted" and said the burden of resolving them shouldn't land on the teachers alone. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with Journal archival reports 
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Once again, here we are. This school committee can't even get out of its own way, how do they figure that they'll be able to make this happen. It's a terrible idea that will be going nowhere. Get settled in, this is going to be a long process.
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When is Carcierism going to stop? I hope that the E.Providence teachers union will file an unfair labor practice to stop this buffoonery. Much can be done here, one cannot take back what one has agreed upon during tough times. All in East Providence must cut back including all political appointees governmental people, etc.
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its about time someone stood up to the teachers and their owners.city of east providence should also lower the property taxes.make businesses want to come here and people want to live here.there are many for sale signs in front of peoples homes,because people cant afford to live here.with property values down property taxes should also be down.standing up to the teachers and their unions is a good first sign.if the teachers dont like it strike you have been living off the taxpayer to long
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Stand by for the next headline!
Massive retirements leave East Providence School System in shambles!
All the promises made to employees for may years now recanted.
Just wait till the other shoe drops!
The promise makers should be held accountable!
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why should teachers be exempt from paying for their health care? their own greed has gotten in the way of providing education to the youth of the community. on the other hand. parents should
provide the teachers with the means to do their jobs,and not be very expensive babysitters!!!
instill values and teach the kids some respect at
home.TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS.
STOP FINGERPOINTING!!! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HELP,
GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THOSE WHO DO!
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Bravo...finally someone stands up to these bullies.
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Is this Mr. Carcieri going to be giving back anything, maybe his salary and full benefits. Give em back if you feel this strongly about your past errors/mistakes. Otherwise you are part of the problem with no answers. Breach of contract, unless you give back all perks that you recieve as an elected official.
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