Koch Gets Nod to Negotiate with Teachers

QUINCY - Mayor Thomas Koch has been granted approval from the School Committee to open negotiations with the City's teachers and other School Department unions in a critical first step toward "working together to find solutions" to the economic crisis facing the City, Koch said.

"We are all in this together, and I am looking forward to an honest, open and most importantly, respectful dialogue with our teachers and school workers regarding the City's future and the future of the Quincy Public Schools," Koch said. "Our teachers care deeply about this city and its children, and I think everyone understands the magnitude the situation we are in. We need to work together."

Koch has previously stated that the budget now being prepared for the upcoming fiscal year will be the most difficult of any amid the historic economic crisis of the last several years. The City faces between $12 and $15 million in increased costs while revenues are expected to continue to lag.

Koch declined to say what he may ask of teachers, saying those issues will be addressed "in good faith at the table." Last year, the City saved several millions of dollars and dozens of jobs when most unions accepted a one-year wage deferral.

Teachers did not accept the deferral, but officials noted that without the support of teachers, the dramatic $10 million in cost-savings from joining the state Group Insurance Commission would not have been possible.

This year, raises for teachers will total nearly $5 million, and contracts for other City unions call for another $2 million in raises.

Koch has met together with union leaders to lay out the City's financial position, and made it clear to City Department heads that substantial spending cuts are on the horizon. Those cuts will come on top of $5 million in spending reductions included in this year's budget and the likelihood of further state aid reductions.

"We have made serious cuts, and we have more serious cuts to make," Koch said. "We are committed to doing whatever possible to maintain public safety and education services, but there will be a number of difficult choices, make no mistake."

One other School Committee member will join Koch in the negotiating process, and any agreement with teachers and other school unions will need the approval of the full committee. The Mayor said he expects to hold similar talks with other City unions, but stressed that opening the door with teachers is a "vital first step."