Norwalk Federation of Teachers President Mary Yordon, left, and Board of Education Chairman Mike Lyons sign an agreement in June. (Contributed photo)NORWALK, Conn. — The Norwalk Federation of Teachers has officially accepted the move to Connecticut Partnership 2.0 as its health insurance carrier.
“Today, NFT members voted to ratify the August 29, 2017 Tentative Agreement with a one-year contract extension and to adopt a new insurance plan,” NFT President Mary Yordon wrote Tuesday in an email to Board of Education Chairman Mike Lyons. “We are happy to partner with the district in a solution to the budget crisis. We are eager to work on the transition to the new insurance, and most of all, focus once again on our students and the important work that we do.”
BoE members had planned in June to cut nearly $2 million from their budget, in addition to a $1.3 million cut they had previously agreed to, because of the stalemate with NFT. Those cuts were eliminated when the NFT agreed in late June to switch its health insurance benefits to Connecticut Partnership 2.0. Moving all NPS employees to the state plan by Oct. 1 put $1.25 million back into the budget, according to a BoE document.
The agreement includes other matters, with 2.0 its biggest component, Lyons said. If the Partnership Plan is modified at the state level, the contract, which has been extended one year to 2019, will be reopened.
Yordon’s “great news” will be put on the agenda for the next Board meeting for approval, Lyons said.
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