Tiverton School Committee Shuffles Its Offer

The Tiverton School Committee has notched up its pay proposal slightly, and although, to be honest, I can't testify to the comparative values of the various health proposals, there's a new one on the table:

The school committee's latest position on salaries made Wednesday, according to school committee vice-chairman Michael Burk, consists of an offer of a two percent increase in the first year, and 1.5 percent increases in each of years two and three, for a total of five percent over the life of the contract

"This is part of the total salary/benefit package we offered," he said, which also included a health cost element.

The health plan, he said called for "a 15 percent copay in year one for all teachers (no more sliding scale); [and] 20 percent in years two and three for all teachers."

I'll be pleasantly surprised if the union acknowledges the obvious and realizes that there simply isn't much more to be wrung out of the town, no matter how brazenly it attributes the small increases in the school committee's proposals to obstinacy.