Union Leader Blasts Board Trio as "Disingenuous"Union Leader Blasts Board Trio as "Disingenuous"

3/27/13 - Following Monday night’s rejection by the Howell Public School’s Board of Education of a two-year teacher contract, the man who heads up the union says those board members who voted against the deal will inevitably cost the district millions of dollars. The pact was voted down by a 3-2 vote, with Board President Mike Witt and his wife, Kim, the board’s secretary, prevented from voting by a recently enacted conflict of interest bill. Kim Witt’s sister is a teacher in the district. Jay McDowell, who heads up the Howell Education Association, tells WHMI that the contract offered significant concessions to the district including guaranteed savings in health care and a guaranteed minimum fund balance of 7.5%. He says it also provided language that would help trim the budget by allowing the district to get rid of scheduling inefficiencies. But those concessions expire at midnight tonight with tomorrow’s implementation of the Right to Work law. The three members who voted against the contract, Treasurer Doug Moore and Trustees Mike Moloney and Deborah McCormick, said they did so because they only had three days to review the contract, which they felt wasn’t enough time. But according to McDowell, that’s a disingenuous answer on the part of Moloney and McCormick, who he says choose not to send their children to Howell schools as McCormick sends her son to Hartland schools while he says Moloney costs the district over $28,000 each year that he sends his kids to St. Joseph Catholic School. McDowell says their decision will ultimately force cuts to teachers and programs that won’t hurt their kids or families. He called it simply a political decision to further their political ambitions. He adds that all three have voted on many items that they only had a few days to review and more importantly the three experts they hired to help them make the decision; Superintendent Ron Wilson, Assistant Superintendent of Finance Rick Terres and the district’s chief negotiator, all said it was a good deal that would bring about financial stability. The current teacher contract expires June 30th, but the union is under no obligation to reach a new deal as the terms of the current contract will simply remain in effect. McDowell says in the end, Moloney, McCormick, and Moore put politics above what is good for Howell students. (JK)