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City teachers ratify new contract
Baltimore teachers voted Thursday to ratify a three-year contract that will give them annual raises of 1 percent and opportunities for promotion, but leaves uncertainty about evaluations and a career ladder that was introduced three years ago.
Union officials said that more than 1,000 votes were cast, with the majority in favor of the contract. They said specific vote counts would only be released to members of the union.
Marietta English, president of the Baltimore Teachers Union, said the pact "demonstrates Baltimore teachers' willingness to create incentives for boosting teacher and student performance."
"It's significant that teachers are getting a raise and keeping benefits that are precious to them," she said in a statement. "With this contract our teachers will continue to inspire ways to improve teaching and learning."
Paid Sick Leave Bill set to be introduced this year
Delegate John Olsziewski and Senator Cathy Pugh are set to introduce a Paid Sick Leave Bill. The bill would mandate earned sick leave, giving 700,000 people this option that they never had before. It was introduced last year by Olsziewski, but this year, might have a bit more momentum. More at the ChestertownSpy.org.
2/3/14 Todd Reynolds, Political Action Coordinator
State Treasurer Opposes O'Malley's $100 million cut to the pension fund
Nancy Kopp, Maryland State Treasurer, criticized O'Malley's plan to cut $100 million from the pension fund to balance the budget, saying it would hurt the fund's credit rating. Read more at the Maryland Reporter.
2/3/14 Todd Reynolds, Political Action Coordinator
State assembly budget expert says O'Malley's budget savings may not be enough.
Warren Dechenaux, the Maryland Legislature's top budget analyst, testified before the assembly yesterday that O'Malley's budget cushion of $30 million may not be enough to cover unexpected spending, which has averaged $145 million in the past few years (and is expected to include things like increased cost of defendants at bail hearings, as required by a new court decision).
In addition, the balancing act by O'Malley's last budget includes tapping into reserves of the employee health benefit fund, and lowering state contributions by $100 million.
Governor's budget released; "savings" generated by cuts to state employee pensions and health care.
O'Malley did a powerpoint presentation on his final budget submitted yesterday. The details are still sketchy, but from what we can tell, we should have a problem with the way some of the savings were achieved and revenues generated-- not by tax increases but by cuts to the funding system for pensions.