MCS Support Staff Negotiations - Numbers Please

As of Friday, the Norwich School Board and Marion Cross School Support Staff — educational assistants and custodians — have not reached agreement on a new labor agreement. The big sticking points are pay and health insurance. The School Board says the pay increases of  over 12% over two years will offset the increase in premiums and out-of-pockets union members are expected to pay. A recent listserv post disagrees, saying “many Norwich support staff stand to lose money.”

If support staff are net losers, then they have a valid point. What is missing are numbers supporting the union’s position. To be sure, support staff do not make big bucks. Still, the Fact Finder stated the wage proposal “should enable employees to absorb the higher health insurance costs and still realize a wage increase [that will] more than keep pace with recent cost of living increases.” Report at 28.

If the union could not convince the Fact Finder, they need a better pitch to the school board (and public) to show support staff end up losing money.  Numbers please.
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LINK: Fact Finder's Report for MCS Support Staff
https://www.sau70.org/uploaded/School_Boards/Norwich/Norwich_School_District_Support_Staff_(Fact_Finding).pdf

Norwich School Board Starts Work On Budget

Town Meeting is months away but the Norwich School Board has started on the budget for MCS. A “Quick Model” projects an 3.61% increase. The Budget Guidelines for next year are here.
However, in the words of Donald Rumsfield, there are several "known unknowns", including:
• contract with MCS support staff
• cutbacks in federal aid
• cost to establish a Pre-K program at MCS
• five-year building maintenance plan.
A wild card is new state government initiatives. Last year Vermont passed a law “encouraging” school districts to pay no more than 80% of teachers’ health insurance. Norwich pays 83% and as a consequence, will forfeit certain state funds next year.

No word on how much the MCS (or Dresden) budget will cost the taxpayers. Stay tuned.
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LINK: Norwich School District Budget Guidelines: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B0dszyJHBhYXSzRDbk8tUGZMNk0

MCS Teachers Reach Tentative Agreement with Norwich School Board

Marion Cross Teachers have reached a tentative agreement with the Norwich School Board. The press release is available here.

In terms of compensation, the principal terms are:
•  Salary. Taking into account step increase, the teachers will see increases of 2.75% in year one and 3.00% in year two.
•  Health Insurance. Teachers will contribute to health insurance premiums 16% of the cost in year one and 17% in year two. Out of pocket maximums are at $400 for a single plan, $800 for parent/child or two-person plan, and $1,200 for a family plan.

No word on the tax impact to property owners. The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the Norwich Teachers and approval by the School Board.  Meanwhile, in the northwest part of the state, the South Burlington teachers announced a plan to strike on Wednesday. Burlington students recently recently returned to class after a four-day strike.

LINK: http://hanovernorwichschoolsorg.finalsite.com/school-boards/norwich-school-board

Part II - Unpacking the Fact Finders Report for the Marion CrossTeachers Contract

Part II of II

Here is my summary of the Fact Finders Report discussed some on the listserv. 
I broke my summary into two parts to avoid an extremely long listserv post.  
The Fact Finders Report is an important document regarding the labor impasse 
between the Norwich Teachers Association and the Norwich School District. 
Note that this collective bargaining dispute involves only the Marion Cross 
School, its 296 students and 35 teachers. 

In all, the Norwich Fact Finding Report And Recommendations addressed five 
issues, with Issue Number 3 and Number 4 being the big ticket items of salary 
increases and health insurance. Part I addressed those big ticket items. This 
Part II addresses the remaining three issues. 

Issue Number 1 dealt with bereavement leave. Teachers currently get up to 3 
days “per occurrence” for the death a person within a broad definition of 
“immediate family”. The teachers proposed up to 3 days “per occurrence” 
because of “a death”. The teachers said the proposal was to account for 
non-traditional families. However, the proposal seem to allow bereavement 
leave for death of anyone, including the March death of rock n roll legend 
Chuck Berry. The recommendation of the Fact Finder was to add a death of “a 
person living in the teacher’s immediate household,” Report at 7, although I 
think the use of “immediate” in household might create confusion with the 
broad definition of “immediate family”. 

For Issue Number 2, the teachers wanted to expand from 5 to 15, the number of 
accumulated sick days the father of child of a newborn could use for parental 
leave, in addition to the days allowed under the Vermont and Federal family 
leave laws. The Fact Finder side with the School District, finding that the 
use of 5 sick days “already exceeds what is available to teachers in 
comparable districts.” Report at 9.

Finally, Issue Number 5 addressed college course reimbursement for continuing 
education and advanced degrees. The School District wanted to reduce the 
benefit from $40,000 per year to $30,000. Although the Fact Finder agreed 
with the School that the benefit was “generous”, was not convinced that it 
“should be reduced at this time.” Report at 25.

Unpacking the Fact Finders Report For the Marion Cross Teachers Contract - Part I

Part I of II

Here is my summary of the Fact Finders Report discussed some on the listserv. 
I broke my summary into two parts to avoid an extremely long listserv post.  
The Fact Finders Report is an important document regarding the labor impasse 
between the Norwich Teachers Association and the Norwich School District. 
Note that this collective bargaining dispute involves only the Marion Cross 
School, its 296 students and 35 teachers. 

In all, the Norwich Fact Finding Report And Recommendations (“Report”) 
addressed five issues, with Issue Number 3 and Number 4 being the big ticket 
items of salary increases and health insurance. This Part I addresses those 
big ticket items. 

With respect to salary increases, the School District offered “new money” 
increases of 2.2% and 2.16% in years one and two respectively, arguing that 
the the Consumer Price Index has “averaged between 1.0% and 1.4% over the 
past eight years.” Report at 10. The Teachers proposal amounted to 3.85% in 
“new money in year 1, 3.56% new money in year 2, and 3.46% new money in year 
3.” Report at 11. From context, I assume the term “new money” includes the 
step increases teachers receive each year.  

The Fact Finder recommended a two-year contract with “new money” increases in 
salary of 3% in 2017 and 2018. He stated that 3% was the average salary 
increase in “recent teacher settlements” and acknowledged that salaries for 
Norwich teachers are at the “top tier of teachers statewide”. Report at 12. 
Early in the Report, the Fact Finder observed that Norwich had the highest 
education tax rate in Windsor County. Report at 13. In his analysis, he 
concluded that no “unusual economic pressures” hindered the School District 
ability to increase wages. Report at 13

For health insurance, the Fact Finder agreed with the School’s proposal that 
teachers pay 15% of premiums in year 1 and 16% in year 2. Report at 20. On 
the issue of the out-of-pocket maximum, he sought protection for teachers and 
recommended $400 for individual plan and $1200 for the family plan, reasoning 
that the School would still save about $24,000 or more, even after the 
penalty imposed by the State. Report at 22-23.

The penalty arises from recent Vermont legislation. The law assumes that 
teachers will pay 20% of health insurance costs. State funds are withheld 
from school districts based on this assumption. Report at 4. School districts 
that pay more than 80% in essence lose state funding. Under the Report’s 
recommendation, Norwich will lose over $56,000 in state funds. Report at 21.

In the news lately is the settlement that Burlington reached with its 
teachers, after a four-day strike. The WCAX website reports that the new 
contract gives teachers a 2.5 percent pay boost in the first year, and a 2.75 
percent increase the second. Teachers will pay 19% of health insurance 
premiums in year one and 20% in year two. The out-of-pocket limit is a 
maximum of $800.

Onward to Part II. 

VT Progressives Wrong on Teacher Contracts

I was disappointed in the fund raising email received from the Vermont Progressive Party. In it, the party crowed about protecting “working people” by siding with the teachers union on Governor Scott’s proposal to create a statewide health insurance contract for teachers. I doubt the union needs protection. The Governor says his proposal will lower property taxes. I think more “working people” are concerned about paying their property taxes and their increasing health care costs. The teachers union is no lightweight. They are capable of bargaining with the State on this issue, rather than volunteer school boards. Property taxes are a real burden to wage earners. Let’s try some new approaches to lowering the tax bill.

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending April 6, 2013

Another Instance Of Anti-Semitic Graffiti In Norwich

Graffiti Found in Norwich
Valley News Staff Report
March 31, 2013
Several instances of anti-Semitic and racially charged graffiti showed up along two of the town’s main roads between Friday night and yesterday morning, police said.
Police were alerted yesterday morning to the graffiti, which appeared in two instances on the roadway about half a mile on either side of the intersection of Route 5 and Route 132, and one instance on the I-beam of theInterstate 91 bridge over Route 132, Patrolman Michael Scruggs said. The graffiti on the I-beam included obscenities and an anti-Semitic slur next to a swastika and knife in orange spray paint.
Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/5388417-95/graffiti-found-in-norwich

TCE And Richmond Middle School

TCE and its presence at the Richmond Middle School remained in the news this week as a informational open house was held on Tuesday at the school. Seventh and eighth graders from Norwich, VT attend the school in Hanover, NH that is across the street from CREEL.
Hanover Goes to School on TCE; Waiting On Fruther Tests
By Sarah Brubeck, Valley News Staff Writer
April 3, 2013
After learning on Friday that trichloroethylene was present in a Dartmouth College owned house, officials were relieved to find out this week that two other vacant homes showed no sign of the chemical compound that can cause cancer.
But the good news was tempered by mixed feelings among neighbors of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, where TCE was discovered at the property boundary earlier this year. Teachers and parents at an open house at Richmond Middle School last night still expressed concern, while noting they don’t want to jump to conclusions until more tests have been conducted. Five residents at Dartmouth-owned housing south of CRREL have asked to be relocated after initial test results revealed an air-borne TCE presence in one home, as well as benzene and carbon tetrachloride.
The discovery of levels have caused officials to expand their testing to adjacent properties, including Richmond Middle School and five homes owned by Dartmouth College in the Fletcher-Cedar neighborhood.
Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/schools/5433732-95/hanover-goes-to-school-on-tce-waiting-on-fruther-tests

Thompson of Norwich Named VP At Trumbull-Nelson Construction 

Theodore G. “Todd” Thompson , of Norwich, has been named vice president of Trumbull-Nelson Construction Co. of Hanover and Montpelier.

Thompson joined Trumbull-Nelson as assistant project manager in 2000 and was promoted to the position of project manager in 2002, overseeing a wide variety of institutional, commercial and residential building and renovations, including work at the ... .

Read the rest of the story. 

LINK: 

http://www.vnews.com/news/business/5429722-95/people-in-business

A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories.

The Norwich Observer. Aggregating news and information about Norwich, Vermont with occasional commentary ... . 

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending February 23, 2013

Norwich, VT Man Gets 30 Days; Police Chief Not Happy
“I think he pretty much got away with it,” [Police Chief] Robinson said. “When a guy has a lot of marijuana, thousands of dollars of stolen property, (acted inappropriately) with a little girl and possessed 40 guns, a 30-day sentence is ludicrous. I was in disbelief.”
Chief Questions Norwich Man’s Sentence
By Mark Davis, Valley News Staff Writer
February 23, 2013
A Norwich man was recently sentenced to 30 days in prison on a slew of state and federal charges, including weapons possession and lewd conduct, in plea deals that the town’s police chief says were overly generous.
A federal judge last week ordered Jeff Bogie, 50, sent to federal prison for 30 days for unlawful possession of a firearm. Days later, state prosecutors finalized a deal that called for the same sentence — which will run at the same time — for charges contributing to the delinquency of the minor, prohibited acts, marijuana possession and possessing stolen property.
Bogie was initially charged in 2010 with lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, for allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl after providing her alcohol. During that investigation, police searched his home and found more than a half pound of marijuana, pills and 44 firearms, including machines guns, rifles and pistols, according to police affidavits.
Federal authorities prosecuted Bogie for being a drug user in possession of firearms: The rest of the case was handled at the state level.
Norwich Police Chief Doug Robinson said that he believes Bogie should have spent at least a couple of years in prison, and was disappointed in the leniency.

Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/police/fire/courts/4632593-95/federal-bogie-state-charges

King Arthur Flour Voluntarily Recalls Flour
Press Release
February 22, 2013

King Arthur Flour has initiated a voluntary recall of a limited number of its bags of flour due to the possible presence of small (7-9 mm) blue polyurethane balls that are used in the sifting process. The balls have a smooth surface and no sharp edges and are made from food grade material. Because of their bright blue color and size (about half the diameter of a dime), they are easily seen in the flour.

Only 5-lb. bags of King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour and King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour that have a Best Used By Date and Lot Codes noted below are affected. This information is printed on the side of the bag beneath the nutrition panel. If the Best Used By Date and Lot Code number are printed on the TOP of the bag, then the product is NOT affected.


Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/voluntaryrecall/press-release.html

Preview Of School Vote

Summary of issues on the ballot on March 5th for Norwich and Dresden schools.

Elementary Schools Plan Renovations

By Sarah Brubeck Valley News Staff Writer

February 22, 2013 

Both the Ray School and Marion Cross School are proposing to upgrade aging facilities in the coming years, and residents Hanover and Norwich residents will see the impacts at this year’s district meeting.

*  *  *

Across the river at Marion Cross School, voters will be asked to approve borrowing $450,000 to pay for a gym roof replacement and energy and ventilation improvements.

Three school budgets are in play in the Dresden towns: the Hanover budget, which covers the Ray School; the Norwich budget, which accounts for Marion Cross School; and the Dresden budget, which covers the cost of the Richmond Middle School and Hanover High School.

Additionally, a negotiated contracts for Dresden and Hanover teachers are on the ballot after voters rejected a contract last year, and there’s a contested Hanover School Board race.

Read the rest of the story.

LINK: 

http://www.vnews.com/news/schools/4556299-95/hanover-budget-dresden-board

A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories.

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending February 9, 2013

Marion Cross School To Increase Security

Dresden Tightens Schools’ Security

By Sarah Brubeck Valley News Staff Writer
Saturday, February 9, 2013

Hanover — The schools in Hanover and Norwich will have new security measures in wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. There are plans to add more security cameras, break-in resistant film on windows and magnetic locks for doors that can be activated by a push of a button, among other things.

At the same time, School Administrative Unit 70 worked with the principals of all four schools and made individualized plans for each building in an effort to maintain the sense of community in each building.

“We could turn the building into a fortress and nobody’s going to get in, but then it’s not a school anymore,” Superintendent Frank Bass said.

After the Sandy Hook shooting, Bass met with the police department and Jonathan Brush, the director of the supervisory union’s physical plant, to create concrete steps to make each building safer. The business administrator also shuffled money around so that $10,000 can be spent at each of the four school buildings out of the current budget. This means that many of the improvements will be in place by the first day of school next fall.

Since the December shooting, it has become a practice to have a daily police presence within each building. This has allowed for an increased feeling of safety, and officers have gotten to know the layout of the schools better.

Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/schools/4328493-95/building-brush-police-bass

Engagement: Cuno - Mahon 

Cuno — Mahon
Sunday, February 3, 2013
(Published in print: Sunday, February 3, 2013)

Norwich — Sarah Stewart and James Cuno, of Norwich and Santa Monica, Calif., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Claire Cuno, to Brian Mahon.

Read the rest of the story.

http://www.vnews.com/lifetimes/4119775-95/cuno-mahon-degree-norwich

Three high school seniors from Norwich selected as candidates for the US Presidential Scholars Program

Three students from Norwich have been selected as candidates for the United States Presidential Scholars Program in 2013.  They are: Gwynn G. Lyons, Samuel J. Merrens and Melanie S. Subbiah.  All three attend Hanover High School.

Candidates are invited to submit an application and additional materials to a review committee.  Semifinalists are named in early April.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors.  Candidates are identified based on having scored exceptionally well on the ACT or SAT.  In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts.

Read the rest of the February 6 vermontbiz.com story.
A list of all of the candidates is here.

LINK:
http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/february/vermont-high-school-seniors-selected-candidates-us-presidential-scholars-program
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/index.html

Norwich School Board - Final Budget Meeting - January 17

from the listserv:
The next Norwich School Board meeting will be this Thursday at 7 pm in the Marion Cross multipurpose room. This will the final budget meeting - the Public Hearing and budget adoption. Included in the discussion will be a proposed bond article to cover building maintenance items. Minutes from previous budget meetings can be found here: http://www.sau70.org/this_month/board_mtgs.htm

The proposed budget can be found here: http://www.sau70.org/this_month/budget_info.htm


Neil Odell
Chair, Norwich School Board

LINK;

http://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-01/msg00297.html