As this year comes to an end, we wanted to update you on our contract negotiations with the School District. The remaining issues on the table—class size, school safety, counseling services, grading policies are issues that go right to the heart of the quality of our schools and the well-being of our children.
You may have heard that the Dec. 18 negotiating session ended with the School Board indicating that the proposal they had on the table was a “final offer.” There are no future negotiating sessions scheduled at this time. The current offer from teachers features significant economic concessions on key items the Board identified as essential for reaching a contract. Our offer includes giving up millions upon millions: in health care cost-sharing (including premium shares for teachers), elimination of all retirement incentives and reductions to current retirement benefits, and forgone past-due salary increases (after five school years with a pay freeze).
We’d hoped that these massive sacrifices by teachers and school staff would help us reach a contract. Unfortunately, the Board’s positions on the remaining contract issues raise serious concerns about the quality of education in Neshaminy and the safety of our schools.
The Board wants to eliminate class size limits for all K-12 grades, including those for special education students.
Without class size limits in the contract, nothing prevents class sizes from ballooning. In fact, the Board has clearly stated that they see class size as a matter of dollars and cents—a place to save money. With the Board moving to close multiple schools, maintaining sensible class sizes in the remaining open schools is vital. Teachers are worried. It’s simple common sense: the larger the class size, the harder it is for us to give your children the individual attention they deserve.
The Board wants to eliminate teachers’ ability to raise—and get action on—safety and health threats to students and staff in our schools.
The current contract gives teachers the right to raise issues such as mold, poor air quality, dangerous building conditions, and school security concerns. It also gives us the right to grieve those issues if they aren’t fixed in a reasonable amount of time. The Board wants to end teachers’ ability to take school safety and health issues to a higher level if needed. But teachers and school staff know we’re the first line of defense for kids during the school day, and we take that duty seriously. Right now, we’re looking at security issues such as classroom doors that don’t lock from the inside and school buildings that are sometimes left open at night. We want to maintain the ability to raise issues like these and get them fixed before there are negative consequences.
The Board wants to give principals and administrators the power to change any grade a teacher gives.
Right now, if a principal changes a grade, the teacher has the right to challenge that change. The Board wants to take that right away. Taking away teachers’ central role in grading opens the door to favoritism and watered-down educational quality. Ironically, there is no district policy on grade changes. Our teachers’ contract is the only place where this important issue is addressed.
The Board wants the right to assign guidance counselors non-counseling duties, such as lunchroom and playground duties.
Guidance counselors are highly trained professionals who serve students and their families in many ways, from helping children in crisis to providing family assistance to coordinating college applications or vocational training. The role of counselors is more important than ever. Counselors shouldn’t be pulled away from their jobs to perform non-counseling duties.
What happens next? NFT members will meet on January 2, to discuss these unresolved issues and decide on next steps. We hope that in the meantime, the Board will work with us to better understand these issues and the impact the Board’s positions will have on your children. Act now. Contact your Board members. Let them know that your children deserve better.
Superintendent’s office: 215-809-6500
Ritchie Webb - webbcaterers@msn.com, rwebb@neshaminy.k12.pa.us
Mark Shubin - phillymark@gmail.com
Mike Morris - mikemorrismotion@comcast.net
Scott Congdon - scott.congdon87@yahoo.com
Irene Boyle - tworld95@aol.com
Sue Cummings - suemcummings@aol.com
Bill Oettinger - billyo74@hotmail.com
Anthony Sposato - anthonyspo@comcast.net
Kim Koutsouradis - kimkouts@yahoo.com
We wish you and your family happy holidays, and the happiest of New Year’s. Thank you, more than we can say, for your support this year and in the coming year, as we keep trying to reach a contract that is good for kids and fair to teachers and school staff.
We welcome questions you have on these remaining issues or the status of negotiations. Please visit our community site for updates and information www.nftcommunity.com. Feel free to forward and questions or concerns to NFT1417@verizon.net and include "Community Outreach" in the subject line.
Sincerely,
Tara Huber and Josh Krieger
NFT Community Outreach Team Chairpersons
NFT1417@verizon.net
215-547-2001
www.nftcommunity.com
We would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday. As you celebrate with your family and friends, please remember those who are unable to celebrate with their families especially the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut shootings.
The Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) and AFT Healthcare-Maryland discovered that several union members who worked during Hurricane Sandy as essential employees were not compensated according to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and COMAR (Code of Maryland Regulations). 
The Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) and AFT Healthcare-Maryland discovered that several union members who worked during Hurricane Sandy as essential employees were not compensated according to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and COMAR (Code of Maryland Regulations). 
