Tuesday morning:
At a press conference, Gov. Phil Scott urged the legislature to go along with a proposal that first surfaced just last Thursday.
He wanted to negotiate a teacher health care plan on a statewide basis rather than school-district-by-school-district. It would save $26 million a year, said Scott, who wants that cash to spend on other state services.
Health care plans for teachers across the state are all up for renewal this year, a rarity brought on by rules surrounding the Affordable Care Act. The new plans are expected to cost less, but how much less and how teachers and taxpayers share the burden remains a question.
Standing with Scott at the press conference were several Vermont school board members and superintendents who argued that having the state negotiate one statewide health coverage plan with teacher unions is exactly what’s needed.
“I would welcome this,” said Adrienne Raymond, a school board member from Shrewsbury who flanked the governor.
She called negotiations between the laypeople who serve on school boards and the lawyers who represent teachers “skewed” heavily in teachers’ favor because of the complexity of health insurance plans.
Scott proposed having his secretary of administration negotiate a statewide teacher health care plan.
Legislative leaders, though, weren’t buying it. Scott waited nearly four months to offer up an idea that they said could violate labor laws.
“With two weeks left, it’s too important with implications that are very broad,” argued Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden). “It begs a lot more thought and analysis.”
Why had he come forward with this plan so close to the end of the legislative session? Scott was asked. His explanation didn’t quite answer it.
“We were just trying to build a bit of a coalition,” he said. “If I presented this a month and a half ago, I’m sure it would have been turned down.”
Tuesday afternoon:
Hours after legislative leaders dismissed Scott’s plan as too much, too late, the Senate Finance Committee gathered to consider new proposals to raise revenue by shifting a greater share of the property tax burden onto wealthy Vermonters.
The proposals were intended to mitigate the impact of a Senate Appropriations Committee plan for funding teachers’ pensions. That plan would use property taxes to pay for the pensions instead of using income taxes.
While the committee debated plans that fiscal analyst Mark Perrault warned could not be enacted until fiscal year 2019, five members of the Scott administration sat in chairs ringing the room. One of them, Administration Secretary Susanne Young, said she had hoped to pitch the governor’s teacher health care plan to the committee.
She left without doing so. Young said she was told the committee would not be taking any more testimony on education taxes.
As she waited, that’s exactly what the committee discussed. Sen. Anthony Pollina (P/D-Washington) offered a plan to ensure that higher-income Vermonters pay at least 2 percent of their income toward the education fund. That plan would raise $25 million, Pollina said.
Sen. Dustin Degree (R-Franklin) piped up from his seat at the committee table. The governor’s plan would save $26 million, he said, offering it up as an amendment.
“No, it’s too late!” chimed in committee chair Ann Cummings (D-Washington).
Degree stood up and picked his suit jacket up off his chair. “I thought I was a senator and had the ability to amend a bill,” he said.
“No,” Cummings replied, telling him he could offer his amendment later on the Senate floor.
“Check the rules,” Degree fired back as he stormed out of the room.
Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflict-of-interest policy here: sevendaysvt.com/disclosure
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And people wonder why Phil Scott beat Sue Mintner. . . Vermont really needs more balance in the State House, more centrist moderates. Don’t care which party but really would like to see more candidates for state rep. and state senator mirror Maine’s outstanding female Senator Susan Collins. Socially liberal and tolerant, realistic and fiscally responsible.
Phil Scott only won due to the short-sighted desire of people hiding behind the balance excuse. In reality, they prefer more GOP representatives with their heads in the sand, such as Dustin Degree.
Let’s keep it simple: No new taxes for working Vermonters (increase taxes on the wealthy), legalized marijuana and more infrastructure spending. No more pet bills like that to raise the smoking age (?) or impose a hotel occupancy tax (wtf?).
This is the most dysfunctional Legislature we’ve seen in years. They refuse to take up any idea the Governor has to offer.
I’m a school board member, and I think the idea of the state negotiating teacher health insurance is foolish. The Governor, VSBA and board members who stand with the Scott is this do NOT have my agreement or support.regarding this issue.
I’ve been around contract negotiations enough to know that the two big financial items, salary and health insurance, go hand in hand. In the above scenario the salary negotiations will quickly follow the health care to the state level, and that will make it functionally impossible for districts to negotiate any working conditions not actively supported by the teachers’ association.
What will happen (and is probably meant to happen) is a statewide teachers’ contract. And once you have a statewide contract you will have in practice a single statewide school district run from the distant and hidden halls of state government.
I’m a school board member, and I think this idea is foolish.
Teachers and their union have been squeezing taxpaying Vermonters for too many years. The union has too much power over individual school boards who always are forced to cave to outrageous demands for huge salaries and Cadillac benefits. We have teachers earning six-figure salaries and paying less than ten percent towards their health care premiums.
We need the power of the state to equalize negotiations. This is a great idea from Governor Scott and it’s sad that legislators are cravenly dismissing it in order to keep their union cronies happy.
More teacher hate from Penelope. Very few teachers make 6 figures. More should. More Vermonters in general should. The money is out there for it to happen.
Tell you what, republiKKKlans: the Vermont supermajorities will start treating Scott with all the respect and decorum with which the congressional majorities in Washington treated Barack Obama. Sound fair? Well, I don’t give a d*** what you retrogressives think, although your squealing has gotten even more annoying.
No doubt that Ann Cummings is a liberal democrat..They want things their way, never mind the rules that’s only for the Republicans to follow not the liberals..Like I have always said it’s time that Vermonters “TAKE BACK VERMONT”..Had enough of these liberal out of staters taking over our state..