UPDATED: 2:17 p.m., Saturday:
The Neshaminy Education Support Professionals Association (NESPA) ratified a proposed contract with the school district Friday night.
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The Neshaminy School Board now needs to vote to agree that to the contract that would give the district the option to outsource dozens of support staff positions.
Original Story:
The 33 page document outlines that more than 75 support staff members could be laid off if the agreement is signed.
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According to the tentative deal, the district would be able to lay off 52 support staff members that serve in a variety of different functions. The deal also says 25 instructional aides that were hired this year could be laid off and replaced by subcontractors.
As LevittownNow.com first reported in September, the deal gives the district the option to subcontract out the operation of its food service program.
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The deal breaks support staff into two groups with the second group having to pay higher insurance contributions while working on a lower pay scale. The first group would be employees who were hired before July 1 and the second would be those hired after.
The district would use attrition and a voluntary severance program to shed the 52 support staff positioned mentioned in the tentative deal.
District officials said a vote by the union is expected Friday evening.
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NESPA members have been worried their jobs could be outsourced by the district as it looks to reign in costs over the next several years. More than 100 NESPA members came to a school board meeting in June and petitioned for their jobs.
NESPA covers roughly 500 staff members ranging from bus drivers to IT workers. The union has been without a deal since the last one expired June 30.
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Contract talks between the district and the union have been going on since since the early part of 2014. The most recent contract expired on June 30.
A state fact-finder’s report that was released earlier in the summer said the district has requested bids to outsource certain support positions in an effort to save money.
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NESPA President Mindy Andersen said at a board meeting in June that 80 percent of the district’s support staff live in the district and the average salary is $28,000.
Both the school board and the union will have to approve the contract before it becomes valid.
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Officials from NESPA were not available for comment as of press time.
