ANDOVER, Mass. – Several members of the Andover school committee recently negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the district’s teachers union.

Following the negotiations, those members came back to the full committee with some details about the tentative contact, but did not include estimates regarding the potential cost to the school district.

One committee member, David Birnbach, says that’s a big oversight, since labor contacts are always expensive, and it’s irresponsible to ask committee members to vote on a deal without knowing the price.

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He’s got a very good point.

But for some reason, Birnbach’s very legitimate concerns provoked the wrath of the board chairman, Dennis Forgue, who accused him of demonstrating a recent pattern of “aggressive” behavior toward his fellow committee members.

“Why is (school committee) Chairperson Dennis Forgue allegedly pushing for a quick vote on the teacher’s contract before being able to share this information with all committee members?” Birnbach wrote in an opinion piece published by the Andover Townsman.

“Negotiations just started in January. Why are school committee members rushing to fast-track a contract agreement – allegedly committing taxpayers and the Town of Andover to millions of dollars of obligation – without first doing the financial due diligence?”

The simple fact is that union labor costs frequently eat up more than half of a typical school district’s budget. The ever increasing costs of union contractual demands have played a big role in forcing many districts into deficit spending situations.

For too many years school boards throughout the nation have been too timid when negotiating with teachers unions. They fear the wrath of the union, and the public, if they don’t give the labor leaders what they want.

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EAGnews has published several studies of teacher union contracts from various districts, which provide many examples of the expensive and wasteful provisions they include.

So Andover taxpayers should be thrilled that Birnbach is throwing up a caution sign before the committee votes on the contract. After all, it’s their money the committee is spending. And taxpayers unfortunately have no right in Andover to view the proposed deal before its finalized.

That means the taxpayers are counting on the committee to protect their interests. Birnbach is doing just that.

But Forgue told the local newspaper that Birnbach’s editorial was just another example of his poor attitude toward fellow committee members.

Forgue suggested that the committee’s recent decision to deny the establishment of a charter school in the district, which Birnbach supported, was at the root of his hostility.

“Over the last weeks and months, many of David’s behaviors and comments have focused on discrediting the school committee, the chair and the superintendent,” Forgue was quoted as saying. “This is part of that pattern.”

We don’t know the details of the charter school debate, and fail to see how one issue is getting confused with the other.

It’s healthy for all public boards, particularly those that handle a great deal of tax money, to have at least one conscientious member who is willing to speak out and go against the grain when he or she recognizes the potential for waste.

We’re willing to bet that Birnbach receives more than a few “thank you” messages from constituents who appreciate his sense of caution. He deserves the same type of respect from his fellow committee members.