NFT President: ‘We Agreed to All the Financial Concessions’

The Neshaminy contract impasse is arguably closer to being solved than not, according to statements made by the leaders of both sides in recent weeks.

Neshaminy Federation of Teachers President and district teacher Louise Boyd revealed  last month to LevittownNow.com that “all financial issues have been resolved.”

A fact that Neshaminy School Board President Richie Webb said at after a recent school board meeting was “95 percent correct.” He said several issues, one being the 201 side agreements, still stand between both sides. He confirmed his statement stands true on Thursday afternoon.

“[The board] refuses to settle. It’s like whack-a-mole. You give them every dime they wanted and they bring up some non-financial matter,” Boyd said. She cited the 201 side agreements, or MOUs as being the latest issue.

NFT spokesman Bob Schiers said, “The endgame moves at every opportunity.”

Webb said in a recent interview that the MOUs are an major issue.

Boyd said during the April interview that teachers had given up their lucrative retirement package in an effort to work with the school board.

The board has previously given the NFT until May 22 to either accept the current contract offer or lose this year’s pay raise and push negotiations off.

Thursday night both sides plan to meet at Carl Sandburg Middle School in Levittown. The meeting was called by the NFT, Webb said.

“It’s really difficult to say if membership will take a vote on the contract tonight or not. That all depends on someone making a motion to do so. I imagine someone will so there is a good chance it will happen,” Schiers said late Thursday afternoon.

If the union decides to vote on the standing offer from the district, union members could either vote to deny the offer or accept it.

“So it’s important for folks to understand that a YES tonight is more like an agreement in principal and then they hammer out the finer details and ratify it by another vote,” Schiers said.

On Wednesday night, Webb issued a statement to to dispel “unsubstantiated rumors” of an agreement between the two sides.

Both sides said they plan to issue statements to the press after the meeting concludes.

How do you think the NFT membership will vote? Tell us below in the comment section. (Make a free account to comment) 

Related:

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• Appeal Planned for Neshaminy MaST Decision
• Neshaminy Graduation Date Could Cost District Money
• Neshaminy Board Members Talk Consolidations, MOUs