Education
By far the most interesting audio from last night’s Tiverton School Committee meeting, in my opinion, was Vice Chairwoman Sally Black’s reasoning for voting to approve the teachers’ contract (stream, download) because the thought processes are indicative of the flawed way in which Rhode Islanders have conducted their public business. Mrs. Black cycled through a…
Well, here we are, at what’s sure to be a tense school committee meeting — as the teachers demand their retroactive pay and a handful of us concerned citizens try to explain that it would be insane to dig our financial hole deeper, with the state facing such a daunting task. You know it’s got…
Dear Tiverton School Committee members: It so happened that, the Friday before you’ll decide whether to approve the arbitrated teacher contract, my boss called me on the construction site to tell me that, after I take my five paid days of annual vacation this week, he and I will have to sit down and agree…
Tiverton Citizens for Change is moving forward from its electoral successes: The School Committee should reject a tentative two-year teachers’ contract at its meeting Tuesday in light of possible unanticipated cuts in state aid to local schools during the current fiscal year, according to the anti-tax group Tiverton Citizens for Change. The committee and the…
So here’s what’s going on in other towns while the Tiverton teachers demand retroactive pay for time spent working to rule: As state leaders wrestle with a second-straight year of mid-term budget cuts, mayors and managers across Rhode Island are looking at everything from later bill payment schedules to union concessions to offset expected losses…
There’s creeping desperation in West Warwick: The Town Council and School Committee agreed to open the lines of communication as part of a settlement of the Caruolo lawsuit the schools filed against the town in April, which seeks a $1.1-million addition to its $49.4-million budget. … … the first step, Thomas said, is addressing the…
East Providence School Committee member Anthony Carcieri makes an interesting observation to the Providence Journal: Along with the skirmishes over ground rules, the negotiators also have disclosed their ultimate goal. The committee wants $3 million in annual concessions from the teachers, Carcieri says, adding that they aren’t bluffing or backing down. “The NEA has experienced…
Well this would clearly not be acceptable: In the first year of the contract, retroactive to the last school year, [Tiverton] teachers with at least 10 years’ experience would receive pay increases of 2.75 percent. The same group would get another 2.5 percent in the current year, but hikes in health insurance costs also would…
Some last-minute pre-election teacher contract controversy has arisen for Tiverton voters’ edification: Superintendent William Rearick and School Committee Chairwoman Denise deMedeiros thought they were close to approving a contract for the teachers this week, saying this is the closest they have been in more than 16 months of negotiating, but teachers union President Amy Mullen…
Nine Rhode Island School Committee members from eight different communities have signed a letter supporting the East Providence school committee in its bid to make contract negotiations public…School Committee members across Rhode Island support the East Providence School Committee and its commitment to holding contract negotiation meetings open to the public. Currently, public sector contracts…
