Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Montgomery schools, teachers near deal to divert pay increases to classroom

The Montgomery County Board of Education is nearing an unusual agreement with unionized teachers and other school staff to divert $37 million earmarked for pay hikes into initiatives to reduce class size and otherwise improve instruction.
The deal is one element in a busy two weeks of deliberations before the County Council’s scheduled May 26 vote on a new $5.1 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Two tax increases are under consideration: a 6.4 percent hike in residential property taxes, and a rise in taxes to record home sales. Most of the new revenue would be steered to schools.
Details of the union concessions — which are coming from renegotiation of a labor contract signed in 2014 — were still being finalized...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/montgomery-schools-teachers-near-deal-to-divert-pay-increases-to-classroom/2016/05/10/ec020c0c-1646-11e6-924d-838753295f9a_story.html

4 comments:

  1. That would be a 50% raise "a rise in taxes to record home sales" and would apply to home sales AND refinancing. That's what you get when you vote for incumbents in this county.

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    Replies
    1. One explanation would be that the voters are professionals who pass the rise in taxes to their clients.

      Delete
  2. "It asked the board to focus instead on instructional improvements and to cut raises to about 4.5 percent."

    So generous of the teachers' union. 4.5 percent is about 10x the rate of inflation in the D.C. area.

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    Replies
    1. and, depending on one's industry, more than most can expect in terms of an annual raise. The past five years my not-for-profit employer has given raises < 2%, and next fiscal year is planning zero.

      Delete

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