As both a longtime resident and veteran teacher in Harvard, I write regarding a letter from the selectmen to the retired teachers about why the selectmen voted to withdraw from the RMT of the GIC.
The selectmen note that they “considered the impact on the town’s overall finances.” In making a legitimate financial argument, the selectmen cite that “the annual cost of healthcare benefits for all current and retired employees … has rapidly grown in 1972 from 1 percent of our town’s budget to 13 percent in 2017.” This statement, however true, is misleading.
As one selectmen thoughtfully pointed out at the Oct. 5 meeting, it makes sense that the health care costs have increased. In the past 45 years, the student population has risen significantly—and with it so has the number of teachers! Naturally, the overall cost (and budget percentage) for health care has risen.
Regarding the financial concern of OPEB liabilities, the selectmen state that Harvard has made “major contributions to our OPEB trust fund which is now the ninth best funded in the state.” This is an accomplishment of which the town should be proud, but it begs the question of whether such a drastic cut in benefits needs to be made so quickly. An incremental approach that protects the current retired teachers would still address the selectmen’s goal of “providing quality health care in a way that the town can sustainably afford.”
The selectmen conclude by saying they welcome suggestions. I sincerely hope that this is a genuine statement and not simply a nice way to end a letter. The suggestion—offered since the Aug. 22 public hearing—is that the town should grandfather the retirees and start the new premium splits with all future retiring teachers. This is a suggestion that I know many of my fellow current teachers and many of my fellow Harvard residents support.
I hope that the selectmen will indeed grandfather the current retirees and allow me to continue to be proud to live and work in Harvard, which prides itself, as evidenced in this year’s Fourth of July theme, on being “A Small Town with a Big Heart.”
Sharlene Tuttle
Still River Road
Editor’s note: The complete text of the selectmen’t letter to teacher retirees
is in our article about the letter.
