3/26/13 - With two of its members excluded from voting due to new state legislation, the Howell School Board rejected a proposed contract with the districtâs teachersâ union last night. Recently-passed legislation backed by Hamburg Senator Joe Hune prevents school board members from voting on employee contracts involving close relatives. School Board member Kim Witt has a sister who is a teacher in the district, so she and her husband, Board President Mike Witt, were excluded from last nightâs vote on a new two-year contract with the Howell Education Association. The contract still needed four votes to pass, but of the five remaining board members only two were willing to vote in favor of the contract. Superintendent Ron Wilson and Assistant Superintendent of Finance Rick Terres had both recommended passage of the contract, which they say included significant concessions from the union designed to prevent financial hardship in the district. Presenters said the contract would have provided $500,000 in savings before the end of this school year by lowing the districtâs contribution to health care costs. It also had safeguards to keep the district from going below a 7.5% fund balance and gave the district greater flexibility in teacher placement and layoffs. The three board members who voted against it were Mike Moloney (pictured here talking with teacher's union President Jay McDowell), Deb McCormick, and Doug Moore. All three said they voted against it because the deal was only released to them late Friday night, giving them less than three days to review the deal. McCormick said she had not seen it before yesterday and could not in good conscience vote in favor of such a large contract without reviewing it first. The stateâs new right-to-work laws will take effect on Thursday, which was identified during the meeting as a point of leverage that favored the district in the contract. Board President Mike Witt says he has no doubt that these laws were the real motivation for delaying the contract approval. Superintendent Wilson expressed his disappointment at the boardâs decision, saying the contract would have improved the districtâs financial stability and contributed to student achievement. A new contract must now be negotiated by June 30th when the current pact expires. However, the teacher's union is under no obligation to make the same concessions rejected Monday night as the terms of the current contract would simply remain in effect, denying the district the proposed savings. A contract with the Howell Educational Support Personnel Association was introduced at the meeting and, with Mike and Kim Witt both voting, passed 4-to-3. (TD)
↧