By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The Buffalo Public School District has slowly emerged from its financial problems. But a stand off over healthcare insurance with the Buffalo Teachers union could cause a major setback.
After about five years of deep spending cuts, the Buffalo School District has a $12.4 million surplus. But schools superintendent Dr. James Williams warns it is not an indication the budget deficit has been eliminated.
$7 million of that surplus was generated after the district switched to a single health carrier for employees last year. The issue remains in arbitration by the Buffalo Teachers Federation and could be resolved by the end of March. Williams says the district needs to negotiate to end the stalemate.
The union says its contract was violated when their option of three health care providers was switched to just one hoice. If the district loses the case in March it would still have enough money to return to three health care providers for the remainder of the school year.
Money has been set aside in reserve funds. But after that, the district would be forced to come up with $15 million dollars more for health care costs. Williams says that could lead to 300 job cuts.
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