While no serious city council opposition has emerged to the proposed D.C. teacher contract, school and budget office administrators failed during a lengthy hearing to say how that contract would be funded.
“Everyone wants this to happen,” said Council Chairman Vincent Gray. “The teachers deserve their raises.”
But according to the latest numbers from the city’s Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi, the $1.4 billion agreement, three years in the making, will leave the city on the hook for nearly $10 million over the course of its four years, and potentially far more.
Gandhi testified before the council on Friday, along with Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and members of their staffs.
In addition to the $10 million shortfall, city accountants said that their analysis did not include money for the “pay for performance” component of the contract — one of its most highly touted features. Rhee has said the very best teachers would be able to make up to $130,000, but because the details of the incentive pay have not been solidified, budget staff said they had no way of knowing how much it would cost overall.
DCPS also faces overspending in the current fiscal year of nearly $23 million, Gandhi said, much of it to cover the salaries of special education staff. The school system has made reductions in its current year budget in order to address the added expenses this year and next. Eliminating vacant positions would save about $7.6 million, for example. Renegotiating the food services contract would save about $3 million by 2013.
Gandhi, who needs to certify the contract before teachers can vote on it, said that nearly $65 million in donations from private funders has been taken out of the equation until the city can get solid assurances that the money will be there even if Rhee leaves her executive post.
“I’m confident that will happen,” Rhee said, adding that a letter clarifying the funders’ commitment is days away.
Throughout their testimony, Gandhi and Rhee expressed camaraderie rarely seen in the past months. Both apologized for recent communication breakdowns that created a controversy over whether DCPS money had been hidden from the council. Both voiced optimism for finding the money.
Council members punted on the question of how the higher salaries would be funded after the contract expires in 2013.
“That’s standard operating procedure,” said David Catania, independent at large. “We pass collective bargaining agreements all the time.”
