Liveblogging the Education Committee meeting today…
11 am
The committee continues to go through the proposals to solve the FIRST budget shortfall, the $30 million hole that was included in the ‘balanced” budget passed last spring. No work yet on the $400 million shortfall ahead.
Debate has covered everything from streamlining job training programs (an excellent idea) to finding savings at the Baxter School for the Deaf and the state-run schools in the unorganized territories. The committee is talking over incentives to encourage retirements by 1,100 or so retirement-eligible teachers, mirroring a retirement incentive for state employees passed by the legislature last session.
Coming soon, a discussion of regional and, maybe, statewide teacher contracts.