Coventry council refers teacher and SRP contracts to finance committee after fiscal briefing

Coventry — The Coventry Town Council on Jan. 13 voted to refer a tentative three‑year agreement for the Coventry Teachers Alliance (CTA) and a related three‑year Support‑Related Personnel (SRP) proposal to the town’s finance committee for detailed review before the council takes a final vote.

Superintendent Don Cowart presented an updated fiscal impact and a timeline for negotiations, saying the school committee had ratified the tentative deal in July and that the presentation given to the council was an update of material already provided. "This is just a presentation. This is not new financial information," Cowart said, adding that the agreement centers on salary and health‑care language changes and was negotiated to support a five‑year deficit‑reduction plan.

Cowart told the council the tentative CTA terms lock in increases of 1% in year one, 2% in year two and 1.75% in year three, and the SRP agreement uses a flat 2% increase each year. He also explained the district changed health‑care administration and prescription management to generate near‑term premium savings and long‑term predictability.

Why it matters: Cowart framed the contract as part of a broader strategy to reduce an accumulated fund shortfall the district lists at about $5.8 million and said the negotiated terms would help the town and school craft a deficit‑reduction plan that the state’s auditor general expects. Council members repeatedly pressed him for the assumptions behind projections — especially the estimate that about eight top‑step teachers will retire annually and the salary step level used for replacements — and asked for clarity on which numbers had changed since the summer packet.

The council’s procedural decision: Councilman Houle moved to refer the contracts to the finance committee so that members with financial expertise can vet the fiscal documents and return a recommendation. The motion was seconded and approved by the council.

Public comment and union response: Speakers at public comment included School Committee Chair James Pearson and CTA President Kelly Ornicas. Ornicas, who identified herself later in the meeting as the union president, said the teachers had accepted a modest package "as a gesture" to help the town. "It was a gesture on our part saying that we know the town's in tough finances," she said. Tammy Anderson, president of the SRP, told the council that a 2% flat increase is meaningful to hourly school employees who are among the town’s lowest paid staff.

Next steps: The finance committee will review the packet, hear staff and union testimony, and issue a recommendation to the full council. The superintendent said his office will provide the committee with the fiscal models he relied on, including the five‑year projections and alternate scenarios that assume different wage trajectories.

The council did not take a final vote on ratification; instead it unanimously (voice vote) approved the referral to the finance committee. The committee’s schedule and date to return a recommendation were not finalized at the meeting.