March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 49 F

Negotiated Agreements With School Groups To Save $30 Million

The Board of Education tonight approved changes to negotiated agreements with the school system’s four employee bargaining units that save $4 million in health-care costs in the current year and lay the groundwork for an additional $26 million in projected cost avoidance over the next several years.

The agreements with the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County (TAAAC); the Association of Educational Leaders (AEL); the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); and the Secretaries and Assistants Association of Anne Arundel County (SAAAAC) carry though at least 2013. All four bargaining units ratified the agreements prior to tonight’s Board vote.

“Our school system, like every other agency and business, must combat the continued rise in health-care costs while continuing to provide quality health care for all of our employees and to focus scarce resources on our core mission of instruction,” schools Superintendent Kevin Maxwell said. “While some of the changes we will make in health care will be uncomfortable, I am grateful to the Board and to our employee groups for taking these necessary steps now as we seek to avoid the types of large-scale layoffs, furloughs, or deeper reductions seen elsewhere.”

The agreements with TAAAC, SAAAAC, and AFSCME were necessary because the county government did not fully fund previously approved negotiated agreements in its Fiscal Year 2012 operating budget. AEL’s prior agreement expired on June 30.

The new health-care arrangements came about through a joint collaborative process with all four bargaining units and key school system staff. As a result of that process, employees will continue to have access to high-quality health care through options that are more cost-effective for them and the school system.

None of the agreements approved tonight contain salary increases. Compensation will remain at Fiscal Year 2011 levels for all employees.

Source: AACPS
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