Teachers' Pact: 'Elephant in the Room'
Barrington's Financial Town Meeting ended with a look at some financial 'realities', including the soon to be renegotiated teachers' contract, which claims the most tax dollars.
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Barrington’s annual Financial Town Meeting closed Wednesday night with some rather pointed rhetoric about budget “realities” that will be “fiscally taxing” in the next few years for property owners.
The list of realities includes the need for a renovated or brand new middle school, millions of dollars in bonds for road repairs, pension obligations and “unsustainable” annual increases in school spending – which takes the lion’s share of taxes in Barrington, said Kathy Cadigan, chair of the Committee on Appropriations (COA).
At the top of the school spending reality, said Geoff Grove, a member of the COA and the chair of the ad hoc budget forecasting committee that has been studying the town’s financial position, is “employee compensation” – “the elephant in the room.”
“Because of compensation,” said Grove,” there is pressure on the budget.”
Cadigan was a bit more emphatic. She said the teachers’ contract “has the hugest impact on tax rates. It takes 87 percent of the school budget and more than half of the total town budget” – actually closer to 60 percent.
Tim Sweetser, vice chair of the COA, pointed specifically to what he said has been a 13.5 percent boost in compensation for teachers since 2009. He asked the 142 voters at the town meeting to compare that boost in pay to their own compensation over the past three years.
Cadigan specifically asked voters in the high school auditorium to look at the list of annual salaries for Barrington’s administrative and professional employees making above $50,000 a year.
The list of salaries was on page 8 in the 24-page Financial Town Meeting document given out to voters. A look at page 8 shows the range of teacher salaries next year and this year.
Here is the range of salaries for the 273.94 FTE positions in the district next year (2012-2013):
- 16 teachers will make between $90,000 and $95,999
- 173 teachers will make between $80,000 and $89,999
- 36 teachers will make from $71,000 to 79,999
- 21 teachers will make $60,000 to $60,999
- 21 teachers will make between $50,000 and $59,999
- 6.94 teachers will make under $50,000
Here is the range of salaries for the 279.06 FTE positions in the district this year (2011-12):
- 5 teachers will make between $90,000 and $93,999
- 136 teachers will make between $80,000 and $89,999
- 75 teachers will make between $71,000 and $79,999
- 15 teachers will make between $60,000 and $68,999
- 25 teachers will make between $51,000 and $59,999
- 23.06 teachers will make under $50,000
Cadigan said the three-year teachers’ contract is in its final year. The renegotiation that will take place soon will go occur out of sight and out of the control of the COA, she said. But it certainly will be felt by taxpayers because of the massive impact it has on Barrington’s budget.
Norman McCulloch Jr. of Adams Point Road made a specific suggestion about negotiating the next teachers’ contract. Barrington school officials must hire an outstanding negotiator, he said, “because the union will have one.”
Gary Morse
3:04 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
Apart from the issues mentioned in the article, consider the following other points:
1) Pension reform pushed the teacher retirement age up by 5 years. Teachers will be staying on payroll an additional 5 years meaning higher average step and longevity payments on top of a higher compounding wage calculation.
2) We still have an unfunded pension liability to pay off in teacher pensions.
3) The council's objective appears to be fast forwarding implementation of 10% affordable apartments/homes in town. The current plan is to tax apartments at a rate of last years rent times 8% (i.e. $480 annual tax bill for a $500 per month apartment). Based on the 2011 tax roll, the current median tax for residents is $6800. Filling the town with high density apartments paying such a low tax rate places more pressure on the school budget.
4) The town council has recently endorsed new legislation for Barrington's participation in a "wind energy consortium" based on a concept and not hard financial data. Projects like these need to be measured against the fact that residents will be hard hit in the coming years. Many in town have seen their wages frozen, reduced, are unemployed, or living on small fixed incomes.
These are hard times and hard times require harder choices than we are making.
Gary Morse
2:06 pm on Friday, June 1, 2012
As of this week, the Barrington town council endorsed East Bay Energy Consortium (Senate bill 2870) is dead for this session. S2870 was voted to be held for further study thanks in part to a clear thinking Senator Dave Bates (vote was 4-3).
The problem in large part was that the EBEC used financial assumptions to push this initiative that were pure fantasy. The taxpayers would have taken a beating.
Thank you Senator Bates for holding this until the EBEC offers up a truthful financial analysis.
Gary Morse
10:17 am on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Insiders are trying to resurrect Senate Bill 2870 this week. For more info, go to: (hint head for the bottom of this 500+ long string):
http://barrington.patch.com/blog_posts/east-bay-energy-consortium-act-good-or-bad-dfc74665
Manifold Witness
7:11 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
Too bad the elephant wasn't at least tied to the CPI.
Natalie
9:17 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Sadly, one important fact that was left unmentioned is that the teachers of Barrington gave up last year's raises because of the financial climate.
Townie
2:49 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Given that the vast majority of teachers in Barrington make beween $80,000 and $96,000, they should go for another few years without any raises. Very shortly, we will have teachers making over $100,000.
Joel Hellmann
5:18 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
With the step increases and the longevity raises the average teacher in Barrington went up over 2% in the year there was "No Raise"
Elizabeth Holmes
10:10 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012
I'd like to know what the towns librarian's are making for 12 month contracts in positions requiring a master's degree. I'll bet it's not anywhere near this much.
Elizabeth Holmes
10:12 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012
I value the work our teachers in Barrington do, but I honestly feel that their compensation is out of whack with today's business reality. As a Law Firm librarian I have a high stress job have to work outside my "contracted" hours per week as needed and make under $60,000 per year with only 4 weeks vacation and 10 days sick time.
Joel Hellmann
5:20 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
the director of the Library does not make in 12 months what the 200th highest teacher makes in Barrington and that teacher has 13 weeks off Plus all the extras.
The other librarians make much less than the director. The town employees make much less than the school employees for the same or similar work
annonymous
4:21 pm on Sunday, May 27, 2012
Why are these teachers making that kind of money?MY son isn't learning any better than a kid whos in east providence.I would replace all these teachers.There are a ton of other teachers who would love to teach in Barrington for less money.And also get rid of some cops in town who do nothing else but harrass people and kids all day long.Ship them to providence where there is real crime.Now that is a way for us to save on taxes.So people do something about this rather than talk about it.
Manifold Witness
11:26 am on Monday, May 28, 2012
With all due respect, Liz, and with sincere and great appreciation for your service on the School Committee, it appears that you may be less than objective as to the important matters at hand. It also appears that you may not be fully able to empathize with those who have to pay to support the current system. Likewise, innocent youngsters may not fully realize the psychological subtleties of the ulterior motives which may exist within the system.
The student-teacher ratio in Barrington is moving down toward 12.
Rest assured that the teachers are well-compensated for everything they do.
Salaries plus benefits are about $135,000 per FTE on average. The teachers get generous post-retirement benefits as well.
Worry not about the teachers being overworked, as they will soon be off for the summer so that they may rest and recharge for the new school year. The taxpayers have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on technology to make the teachers' jobs easier.
Town government is working to bring in more students to beef up enrollment. The administration does not want to have to reduce the number of teachers, though economic realities dictate that the number should be reduced.
And, with all due respect, the fact that your last sentence ends with a preposition stands in stark contrast to your foregoing claims.
We wish you all the best in your future endeavors!
annonymous
12:42 pm on Monday, May 28, 2012
I have a son who is entering the 10th grade,and let me say the teacher stays for 35 minutes after school ,helping students with some trouble.That is it other schools do the same thing.If these teachers are so brilliant why is my son still having trouble with math?while my nephew in east providence is doing wonderful.I'm not saying all teachers in Barrigton are slouches but a lot of them are.Please
Dayman
11:09 am on Friday, June 1, 2012
Any student with the desire to be proficient in any subject should do well at BHS. Not only do the teachers help out beyond class time, but there are also quite a few students who give extra help at no cost. It is a matter of wanting to be proficient and then asking for help. If there is no desire to become proficient it is tough to lay that on the teachers. Parents need to step up and take responsibility.
Gary Morse
3:19 pm on Monday, May 28, 2012
Ms Teitz,
Give yourself credit, the schools in Barrington are great because of dedicated and involved students such as yourself.
Second comes dedicated and involved parents who ensure dedicated students such as yourself.
Third comes dedicated teachers.
This is not to say that teacher dedication in Barrington is not significant. What I am saying is that without 1 and 2 above, even a Barrington teacher will lose their enthusiasm.