No Money For You DC Teachers !

Bill Turque of DC Schools Insiders blog reported "that District Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi just released a letter he sent to Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee saying that the $34 million surplus she cited Tuesday as a basis for helping to finance teacher salaries under the proposed new labor contract "does not exist." Gandhi's finding could throw the status of the tentative agreement with the Washington teachers' Union into serious doubt."

According to Turque: "Gandhi's finding, conveyed to Rhee in a stinging letter late Thursday is likely to open up a whole new chapter of contention in tortured history of the contract, which has been in the works since the end of 2007. While his (Gandhi) assessment appears to defuse charges that Rhee opted to sock away money for a new contract rather re-hire teachers laid off in October, it clearly undermines the financial foundation of the $140 million deal. Gandhi told Rhee that while there is a projected $34 million of under-spending in the school operations sector of the current budget, that is offset by an estimated $30 million in over spending in the system's central office operation. In unusually blunt language, Gandhi also took Rhee to task for what he called a failure to adequately consult his office before revealing the surplus at a meeting with D.C. Council members. "I was incredulous to learn that in your April 13, 2010 presentation to the Council on the contract you asserted that a surplus is available to fund the proposed salary increases based on preliminary information," he wrote."

For more on this story click this link.

Posted by The Washington Teacher, featuring Candi Peterson - blogger in residence