To the Editor: I applaud the recent agreements struck between the School Committee, WISE union, and Warwick Teachers Union. Most importantly, the agreed-to 20 percent health care co-pay has enabled …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
|
To the Editor:
I applaud the recent agreements struck between the School Committee, WISE union, and Warwick Teachers Union. Most importantly, the agreed-to 20 percent health care co-pay has enabled the School Department to realize more than $2 million in savings. In addition, the privatization of special education buses should result in an additional $1 million in savings. Now that these two issues are resolved, we can focus more on the system’s most important constituents – the students.
A couple of years ago, the City Council chastised the School Committee to go back to their contracts to extract cost savings (after having already closed schools and cut positions) and the mayor bemoaned the fact that the then teacher co-pay of $11 per week “tied his hands” in dealing with the municipal, police and fire unions – so much so, evidently, that the administration was only able to get a $14 (single) and $28 (family) weekly co-pay for those unions in the current contract. But the administration was quick to tell us that it was “nearly a 10 percent” co-pay – as if that somehow changed the math. (I’d also note that the 2011 Kaiser Family Foundation study of employer health benefits shows the average employee co-pay for single and family plans at approximately 18 percent and 26 percent, respectively.) Kudos to the School Committee, WISE union, and Warwick Teachers Union for showing some leadership by doing the heavy lifting with respect to health care co-pays. Mr. Mayor, your hands are now untied.
David Testa
Warwick
2 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
schwanee
Well Mr Testa- The Mayor tied the hands of the School Dept many years ago. Giving store away before the last contact. So if your trying to get brownie points from the Mayor, Well done. We are so glad you didn't get elected on the School Committee, Warwick doesn't need another lap dog of the Mayor.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Report this
davet1107
schwanee, i think you completely misunderstood the letter. It criticizes the Mayor for essentially blaming the schools for the fact they he was only able to get a $14 and $28 copay from the city unions on the last contract.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Report this