School panel urges Weymouth override

Money would fund teachers' contract

WEYMOUTH - Rather than scrap a new teachers contract that took 18 months to hammer out, Weymouth school officials have a different strategy for addressing the budget crisis: Ask voters to approve Proposition 2 1/2 tax increases for the first time.

The only other attempt, 20 years ago, was soundly defeated.

Despite the history, the School Committee is asking the Town Council to approve putting three funding options requiring overrides before voters:

$4.58 million to restore the school budget to the original request the committee made at the start of the budget process on Feb. 14;

$2.97 million to restore both the 2 percent budget reduction voted in earlier by the committee and the 3.4 percent additional cut requested by Mayor Sue Kay to cover the schools' share of the health insurance deficit;

Or $1.857 million, which would cover just the 3.4 percent in additional cuts sought by Kay.

According to School Committee vice chairman James Lockhead, the proposals would increase the average residential property tax bill by $199, $129, and $81 per year, respectively.

Lockhead made the request Tuesday night moments after the committee voted to fund a five-year contract negotiated with the Weymouth Teachers' Association. The vote was 5-2 - with Kay and committee member Karen Berry opposed - to approve both parts of the contract.

The first two years of the contract provide teachers with a 1 percent raise retroactive to last year and a 2 percent raise for the fiscal year that began July 1, costing about $1.6 million, which must be funded from this year's budget. The second part of the contract calls for raises of 3, 4, and 3 percent, respectively, in fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 2012 .

Kathy Lavery, president of the Weymouth Teachers' Association, who is retiring as a teacher and stepping down as union president, said the vote was the culmination of an 18-month process and more than 100 hours of negotiation. She said she was always hopeful the committee would vote to fund the pact, but was uncertain, "given the political discussion and what's happening in the town."

The committee voted, 6-1 - with Kay opposed - to forward the override request to the Town Council. The council, whose next meeting is July 14, has 30 days to decide whether to put the override on the ballot.

According to Lockhead, state election officials have said the override question must be approved by Aug. 6 for it to be added to the ballot. Lockhead had hoped to put the question on the ballot for the Sept. 16 primary, but Kay said she was told by state officials that the question cannot be included in a partisan election, so it would have to wait until the November general election. The deadline would be the same.

Weymouth voters have faced only one override request since the property tax cap law was passed in 1980, according to the town clerk's office. In a special election in 1988, a request to override Proposition 2 1/2 to fund school repairs and renovations failed, 4,093 to 1,509.

Kay said she has never in the past voted against a fairly negotiated contract and criticized the committee's decision not to bring the contract to the Town Council for funding review.

"What makes this contract different is that the School Committee is looking to fund it directly out of the School Department budget because they realize the town budget cannot afford it," she said in a prepared statement. "This is a priority decision that only the School Committee can make. In voting this contract, they are in fact telling the residents of Weymouth that we can afford it. I believe this will have an adverse impact not only on the education of the students, but on the town at large."

Kay noted that nonunion administrators will receive the same increases as union members.

School Committee member Diana Flemer called the contract "fair for the town and the schools."

"It's imperative we don't have chaos when we open the schools in the fall," she said.

Berry, who sided with Kay, said the teachers deserve a raise but worried about the fallout, noting the committee has already had to eliminate 90 positions.

"I don't think the committee fully understands the impact of what needs to happen to fund this contract," she said.

A separate issue is whether the council will vote to put an override on the ballot.

Some council members have been openly critical of the committee's decision to go forward with the teacher contract, even after the healthcare fund crisis erupted.

Others have expressed concerns about how the school pact would affect discussions with other unions.

Even though the fiscal year began July 1, the town is not expected to have a final budget until sometime next month.

Rich Fahey can be reached at faheywrite@yahoo.com.