Vermont's Republican Governor Phil Scott is proposing that Vermont's teachers negotiate their health benefits directly with the state, instead of their local school boards.
Scott's plan takes advantage of unique timing: all school districts are negotiating their contracts this year, and the teachers' health care provider, the Vermont Education Health Initiative, is changing their offerings. Scott says property tax payers can save up to $26 million.
The proposal has drawn the ire of the statewide teachers union, the Vermont chapter of the National Education Association. Darren Allen, a spokesman for the NEA, said the proposal is an assault on collective bargaining rights.
The plan would have to go through the Democrat-controlled Legislature, which adjourns in early May.
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