Tough Decisions for the Tiverton School Committee

Superintendent William Rearick of the Tiverton school district just announced that federal grant funding is being reduced $200,000. He's gone back through the budget and found $27,513 in reductions (e.g., $4,000 from high school textbooks). Another $77,464 can be saved by reducing a middle school Math Literacy position by 4/5.

Now begin the pleas for cuts to be found anywhere but where they look likely to be taken.

Teacher applause.

Well, look. The single largest chunk of the budget is their pay and benefits, and those are still under negotiation. In the private sector, when the company's revenue is dropping, at the very least, demands for raises, especially up to double-digits, would be entirely inappropriate.

The detriment of unionization is increasingly stark.