Board gets tough with latest proposal

From an article to appear in Sunday's Courier Times . . .

The Neshaminy school board is fighting back - hard.

After rejecting the latest contract proposal from the teachers union, the board came back Thursday with a one-year offer and added in wording that would require teachers to work three nights a school year. The night work stipulation was included after teachers didn't show up at recent back-to-school nights.

The addition was needed to ensure that teachers cannot choose to skip the functions, school board President Ritchie Webb said Friday. The teachers' last contract did not specifically mandate that they attend such nights.

The board's rejection of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers' proposal came easily, according to Webb, because the district would be unable to meet the union's financial demands.

"First of all, they wanted retroactive pay," he said. "Our figures indicate that if we agreed to that, for the past three years, with salary increases, it would cost the district $11.7 million out of the current year's budget. That is just not doable. Even if we wanted to do it, we couldn't do it."

He cited the state's Special Session Act 1 of 2006, also known as the Taxpayer Relief Act, as another limiting factor. "Under Act 1 for this coming year, the most we'd be able to raise taxes without exceptions or a voter referendum is $1.6 million," Webb added. "It is impossible to finance the amount of increases they want."

In a statement e-mailed to the newspaper Friday, NFT president Louise Boyd said the board is not negotiating in good faith.

"Last night the Neshaminy School Board rejected, out of hand, the most recent proposal presented by the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers. The board refused to discuss specifics," the statement read. "The board proposed to amend its existing 34 pages of changes with the addition of a 35th page of demands. This means that the board is actually going in reverse in the negotiating process. This is not good-faith bargaining and the board knows it. The public should know it, too..."

The school board's Thursday offer is for one-year during which teachers would be required to contribute 17 percent of the district's cost for their health care premiums, receive a 1 percent raise plus steps, totaling to an average 3.1 percent, and work the three nights.

The board's offer also calls for teachers to work longer hours - 7.5 hours daily as opposed to the 7 they now work - and more days - 190.5 per year instead of the 188.5 in the expired contract.
A $27,500 retirement bonus found in the teachers' previous contract is eliminated in the board's offer.

To read the entire article, click here.

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The stalemate continues

There were many things I liked about yesterday’s parent solidarity rally, and there were some things I didn’t like.

On the plus side, the organizers did everything possible to keep this event the “peaceful protest” that it was billed as. They alerted both district officials and local police of their intentions, and they kept their protest off the main grounds of Maple Point (for the most part). In general, signs were on message and respectful, and there was no loud yelling or jeers from the crowd. This group clearly made their voices heard.

The negatives . . . a small group of the parents did carry their protest right into the main parking lot although the organizers were advised to keep their rally limited to the outer fringes of the property. I don’t know if these few parents didn’t get the message, or perhaps were coaxed onto school grounds by the Fox 29 reporter, who I am told was “disappointed” that the event didn’t take place right outside the main office.

Also of concern to me was the presence of a few younger children at the rally. While I understand that it’s important to teach children the importance of standing up for what you believe in, this is a complex, emotional issue that is very confusing to pre-adolescents. Parents should explain the situation to their child carefully, and the message they give should be much different for a high school student than it is for an elementary schooler. Let’s not have a repeat of last year’s anarchical event undertaken by our Maple Point kids.

Here is the Courier Times recap of yesterday’s rally.

I’m sure you know by now, the Board has officially rejected the NFT’s recent contract offer. As you might expect, the Courier Times editorial board has followed up with another scathing opinion, this one encouraging teachers to “put a leash on the extremists who are leading you astray,” which is a direct reference to NFT leadership.

Also in the Courier is a letter from a local resident who chastizes the editorial board by saying they "unfairly characterize the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers ("NFT") as being "unreasonable amateurs" in their conduct during negotiations with the Neshaminy school board. Nothing could be less accurate."

After 2+ years of talks both sides are still very far apart, and public concerns of a teachers strike grow every day. The good news is that so far the NFT hasn’t even hinted at a possible strike, so while we should be prepared for the worst, we do not necessarily have to expect it. Of course that could change at any moment, but for now we must continue to remain calm and focused.

Just below is last night’s Fox 29 News report from the District offices. And just in case you thought Fox was the only local news station covering Neshaminy, here is a link to a report filed by KYW 1060 News Radio.

Parents plan "silent protest"

There is an interesting article in today's Courier Times about two parents organizing a protest this Thursday at Maple Point, which is the site of the next meeting between the Board's Negotiation Team and representatives from the NFT.

A few thoughts about this . . .

* Kudos to these parents for getting involved and for exercising their right to free speech.

* What I don't understand is why a certain local Facebook personality who claims to be an advocate for the children would label this protest as a bad idea. Even worse is that they appear to be deleting comments from residents who support the protest.

* NFT President Louise Boyd is quoted in today's article as saying, "It's unfortunate that the district has taken more than two years to even consider serious negotiations and that's the reason we are where we are today." Really Louise, REALLY??? And I suppose your refusal to put employee health care contributions on the table has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that so little progress has been made in more than two years.

* And the quote of the year from the NFT Prez, "Work-to-contract is completely legal and it is just one of several bargaining tools that we will utilize . . ." . Translation = YOUR CHILDREN are a bargaining tool. I think human shield is a more accurate description.

Sounds like Thursday is going to be quite an eventful day!

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Staffers commended for actions in an emergency

From today's Courier Times (picture credit: Kim Weimer/Courier staff photographer) . . .

[Superintendent] Louis Muenker recently praised three faculty members whose efforts helped avert a tragedy on the first day of school.

On Aug. 31, a teacher complained of not feeling well and eventually passed out into fellow teacher Scott Prendergast's arms. Part-time health aide Peggy Lutz was called to the scene.

"I ran down to the room and when I got there, I saw his color was not very good and he wasn't breathing," said Lutz, who's worked at the school for more than five years. "I yelled for someone to grab the defibrillator and started CPR."

"I know it was only a few minutes, but it seemed to take forever," she said. "I used the (automated external defibrillator) and put the paddles to his chest and gave him a shock. The machine then told me to resume mouth-to-mouth and CPR."

At that point, Lutz said, the teacher's color began to return and she detected a faint pulse.
"He began to breathe shallowly and I turned him on his side," she added.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

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Just to make the challenge even greater . . .

The Act 1 budget index was just released for next year’s budget development process. It will stand at only 1.4%, meaning that the board may not raise spending in 2011-12 more than the value of a 1.4% increase in the real estate tax rate. As a reminder, the index limit for the current budget year was set at 2.9% index.

This new 1.4% index equates to approximately $1.6 million in total. Just for comparison purposes, our health insurance and/or special education costs usually increase more than this amount, without considering any other parts of the budget.

As if a fiscally responsible budget wasn't already a challenge, our job just got a lot tougher!

Act 1 Index 2011-12

Undaunted by WTC, parents attend BTS night

Somewhere between 200 - 250 parents attended last night's Back-to-School night at Maple Point, with similar reports of good turnout at Sandburg and Poquessing. Despite frustration over the WTC action taken by the NFT, many parents felt it was important to show up at their child's school.

It should come as no surprise that the wave of public opinion continues to be critical of the path chosen by our teachers. A Thumbs Down editorial from this morning's Courier says:

To Neshaminy School District teachers, for … well, it's a long list. But let's limit it to teachers bailing out on back-to-school nights.

The disruptive action is part of the union's "work-to-contract" order, which means teachers aren't supposed to do much of anything outside the school day. This is the union's way of putting pressure on the school board to give teachers a contract taxpayers can't afford.

Shamefully, the greatest impact of what amounts to a work slowdown is on students.

There is also an article about last night's BTS events that contains parent comments such as:

Amanda Barner, parent of an eighth-grader, said it seems that the teachers "don't care enough to come out for the children."

"Everybody needs an income, but the biggest reason you become a teacher is because you should want to help and inspire children," Barner said. "This teaches them nothing except to do nothing more than they're ever asked to do."

If you didn't happen to tune into Fox 29 news last night, further down below is the report they filed about BTS night.

I was very pleased by the parent turnout last night. One woman who stopped by to say hello told me that she considered this a showing of parent solidarity. And there were plenty of other attendees from last night who shared similar feelings. Clearly the parents in our District are tired and fed up, but they are also unwavering in their support of the Board's position.

What was also apparent from comments overheard last night was that parents appreciated the efforts of the District's superintendent, administration and principals during this difficult time. So despite this group being maligned earlier in the week by the NFT Veep, Neshaminy officials continue to receive backing from the public.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in last night's BTS events!

Are they serious?

That's the title of today's Courier Times editorial in reaction to the NFT counter proposal. Some excerpts include:

Union negotiators for Neshaminy teachers are a persistent bunch. They're also insensitive, if not completely arrogant.

On the biggest of all issues - health benefits - the union has not budged. Negotiators continue to insist on a total freebie; that is, not a penny from teachers toward the cost of health insurance. In other words, 100 percent of the cost of insurance would continue to be covered by taxpayers. That said, the union is offering to increase co-pays for a laundry list of medical services and prescription drugs. That's a little something - way too little!

As one board member said, "The (union) is seeking to keep their (what we have called a) Rolls Royce health care plan with no contribution toward the monthly premiums +"

The union's stubborn and insensitive insistence on free health insurance is a slap in the face of every taxpayer in the Neshaminy School District. So is the union's salary demand, which is retroactive to 2008.

The five-year deal proposes increases of 2.75 percent in each of the first two years, 3 percent in the third and fourth years, and 3.5 percent in the final year - with the same percentages applied to step increases.

Explained one school board member: "Remember that a 3 percent raise translates into much more than simply 3 percent because it is also applied to the salary steps. So while teachers at the lowest end of the salary scale would receive minimally 3 percent (as an example), there are teachers who would receive two to three times that much."

Incredible! And incredibly selfish.

The school board is holding a work session this evening but will welcome public comment on the nion's counter-proposal. Taxpayers should get in line early. .