Town of Braintree

as i understand it

the town has to find the money 'somehow' ie via layoff of least senior teachers in order to positive fund the contract as it was accepted by both the union and the town

Who signed the contract

for the town and who does the negotiations with the union?

This smells like a conspiracy to me.
the contracts are signed sealed and delivered by the school committee
before the town meeting gets a chance to vote on it.

the town has to find the money 'somehow'

The unions and the schools are much too cozy for my taste, how do we the taxpayers
stand a fighting chance with this setup.

Let them scream for an override after pulling this crap, we need to inform and vote
these motions down.

Can we change the school committee bylaws as for contract negotiations,
how can an contract be negotiated in good faith without the funds being available?

Are they always playing the same game, more money than we have, layoffs, a hue and cry to hire the poor teachers back after the layoff?’s., try and force an override every year..

By a curious mind wants to know

So, your saying?

The School Committee, knowing it needs in excess of $l million dollars for total operating expenses in FY 05, signed a contract with the teachers union that increases salaries alone nearly $l million dollars, and our funding/appropriations body, in town meeting, has to rubber stamp that expense? Are you saying that town meeting has to approve a contract that they had no say in agreeing to, and then they must also find the means to fund the contract? It sounds as though we have one body, the School Committee, giving away funds we do not have and dropping the problem onto the laps of town meeting members. How can the School Committee sign a contract that they cannot fund? If we allow that, then aren't we infact making them an arm of our appropriating body, town meeting?

By money matters

Exactly how does Fincom

go about evaluating the school budget requests and decide which ones are reasonable and fiscally sound? Or are they basically a rubber stamp for the school dept?

They sell the schools requests to town meeting, do they give a reasonable presentation to the town meeting or is it a Bulger like handful of bills held up in the air and recommend they vote for them?

Do they, have they, ever said no to the schools? Are they in any way accountable for over budget expenditures like those that would require a future override?

By A New Donkey In Town