TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — In a move intended to increase transparency, Traverse City Public Schools will post online the proposals made by the district and its unionized employees during contract talks, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
A proposal made by the Traverse City Transportation Association has already been posted, and the district's response was expected shortly after a negotiating session today, the Record-Eagle reported.
District officials said the move is intended to increase visibility, according to the Record-Eagle. Superintendent Steve Cousins said posting the proposals is the "next logical step" in informing the public how taxpayer dollars are spent, the Record-Eagle reported.
"We have nothing to hide," Mary McGee-Cullen, president of the Traverse City Education Association, told the Record-Eagle. "Our contracts are already posted online."
The transportation employees have proposed 2 percent wage increases in each of three years — two of them retroactively — as well as changes in retirement, severance and compensation for canceled school days, the Record-Eagle reported.
SOURCE:
Traverse City Record Eagle, “TCAPS contract proposals made
public,” Nov. 26, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, “Public Can’t See New Pact before
Board Vote,” Nov. 20, 2010
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