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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ColtonGang who wrote (51380)	10/24/2000 10:56:36 AM
From: ColtonGang	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

ABYSMAL RECORD IN TEXAS>>>>>>>>>>>>Teacher pay Higher insurance costs shouldn't devour increase 10/24/2000 The recent snafu by Dallas school administrators, which could wipe out much of a teacher pay increase this next year, reaffirms the need for a statewide health care strategy for public school instructors. School officials added millions of dollars in health insurance costs for Dallas taxpayers and teachers because they didn't shop for more competitive bids. Failure to seek out better rates soon enough will mean that teachers will pay at least $80 more each month for family coverage. Granted, the turmoil at district headquarters during the last year has not been conducive to sound administrative policies. But it is inexcusable that teachers were given significant salary hikes, only to be told much of the additional money will be taken away by higher insurance rates. The dilemma in the Dallas public schools dramatizes the need for the Texas Legislature to provide teachers with health cost relief during the 2001 session, which convenes in January. State lawmakers approved $3,000 pay hikes for teachers in 1999. But the boost from the raises will be fleeting if teachers continue to face spiraling insurance premiums. Lawmakers should commit sufficient money to reduce those insurance payments. Initial estimates showed it would cost at least $2 billion to cover teachers and other school employees. But that price tag eventually could top $4 billion. Texas legislators will have about $4 billion in surplus funds as they put together the budget for the next two years. Not all that money can go toward insurance premium payments for teachers. But the state can and should earmark enough money to lower their monthly insurance costs by a significant amount. The potential costs for Dallas teachers under the higher rates for the district next year are downright shocking. The most expensive plan carries a monthly price tag of $918. Mike Moses realized he would have a big cleanup job when he agreed to accept the Dallas superintendent's job. But he could not have anticipated how pervasive the problems have become as a result of slipshod management and instability.

To: ColtonGang who wrote (51380)	10/24/2000 11:08:50 AM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 769667

Both can be deadly to people with respiratory problems, like asthmatics. It is costly to get them out of the air. They are the result of having things we desire, in one case extensive wooodlands, parks, and gardens, in the other industry and manufacturing, factories and automobiles. I said, in any case, that I had no objection to trying to restrict pollutants, but that I did not know enough about the situation in detail to evaluated their efforts. While it is still a problem, they are behaving responsibly to give warnings.......