The Falls Township Republican Committee formally denounced the release of the Pennsbury fact-finder’s report earlier this week by Republican school board member and Lower Makefield resident Simon Campbell.
In the statement issued by the local GOP on Thursday, the group called Campbell’s actions “personal grandstanding.”
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On Tuesday, Board President Allan Weisel said the board “disavows and regrets the release of attorney-client privileged communication, confidential District documents and the Fact Finder’s report.”
Campbell released the 20-page report, which was presented Monday to the Pennsbury Education Association (PEA) and the Pennsbury School District. Under terms set by fact-finder Lawrence Coburn, the report was not to be released to the public until the next school board meeting on May 9. At the meeting, the board is set to vote on whether or not to approve Coburn’s report.
If approved, the report would help create a new contract for Pennsbury teachers.
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“This unelected unaccountable government bureaucrat has no authority to tell any elected official that he or she must not discuss the expenditure of public money with the public prior to casting a contract vote on May 9, 2013,” Campbell said in a statement released to the media on Tuesday.
Campbell previously defended his release of the report and said he hope it started a “thoughtful discussion.”
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Here is the full statement from the Falls Township Republican Committee:
The Falls Township Republican Committee denounces the actions of School Board Director Simon Campbell. His releasing of the Fact Finder Report prematurely and the Attorney/Client Summary appear to be nothing more than personal grandstanding. There is no gain to the public by revealing the full contents of the report, especially considering it is far more favorable to Pennsbury Taxpayers then similar reports in neighboring districts.
It is the opinion that the only resolution to the current labor impasse in Pennsbury can only be resolved thru honest negotiations. The Fact Finder, Lawrence S. Coburn Esquire, appears to have used a fair approach in recommending no pay raise for teachers making over $98,000 per year and a reduced cost Healthcare plan.
As Solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik pointed out in his also released Attorney Client Summary, “For the first time in what I believe is Pennsylvania history, there will be no column movement (movement on the salary scale recognizing educational attainment) for the entire length of the Contract.” It appears that with such a favorable report from the Fact Finder that Mr Campbell’s actions serve no other purpose then to sabotage the process and to continue the current labor unrest in Pennsbury. No child benefits from a labor strike at Pennsbury which appears to now be what Simon Campbell wants to achieve.
While we will not take a position as to what the board’s position on this report should be. We do hope the cost of defending this action from the policing agency of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board will be completely reimbursed by Mr Campbell. It is not the responsibility of the Pennsbury Taxpayers to pay for Mr Campbell’s personal crusade.
Here is the fact-finder report:
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Click to access FactFinderReport042913.pdf
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