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Union and Milwaukee Public Schools clash over which fringe-rate to use in cost projections for wage increase
Summary
At a bargaining session, MTEA pressed Milwaukee Public Schools to use a 17% marginal benefits rate to cost a 2.63% COLA, saying the July 1 increase would cost $24.4 million; the district and its adviser defended a pooled 53% fringe rate required by federal grant rules and audited budgeting, saying the district faces a $46 million structural deficit.
At a bargaining session between Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, negotiators disagreed over how to calculate the district's benefit costs for a proposed 2.63% cost-of-living adjustment.
Amy, a lead MTEA negotiator, said the union's analysis using MPS's own numbers shows the incremental tax-and-benefit costs of the wage increase are about 17%, not 53%, and that the true cost of a full July 1 COLA for represented workers is $24,400,000. "The true cost of full COLA on July 1 is $24,400,000," Amy said, urging the district to accept the timing so classrooms can be staffed for the fall.
Judith Marte, a contracted budget advisor with the Council of Great City Schools, and district representatives defended the district's blended approach. "The 53% rate is not a choice made to inflate costs. It is the…
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