A majority of voting members of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers (NFT) have approved a tentative one-year contract. Next, the contract will come before the Neshaminy School Board at a special meeting on Thursday, August 6 at 7 p.m.
About half of the NFT’s roughly 600 members attended Monday evening’s meeting. NFT spokesman Dennis Boyle said 99 percent of the union members in attendance voted to ratify the proposed contract.
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The proposed deal, if approved by the school board next week, would be retroactive and cover July 1 through June 30, 2016.
“Tonight our members spoke, and collectively, we are happy to have ratified a bargaining agreement with the District,” NFT President Tara Huber said in a statement. “We think this agreement is beneficial for all parties involved. This agreement is affordable for the District, with equitable salary and health insurance conditions; fair for educators, who will have adequate preparation periods; and most importantly, great for Neshaminy’s students, who will benefit from class size limits. We await the School Board’s vote of acceptance in August.”
From the NFT:
Barring the following exceptions, the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) will remain unchanged:
Salary
There will be no base salary increase, but there will be vertical step and horizontal movement for eligible staff. Proof of appropriate credits earned must be provided to the District by October 15, 2015, and credit will be applied retroactively to the beginning of the school year.
Health Insurance
Members will continue to be required to make premium contributions of 16% of the applicable premiums. The following Bucks and Montgomery County Schools Health Care Consortium preferred plans will now be available to all members and their dependents: Keystone Point Of Service 15, Personal Choice 10/20/70 and Personal Choice 20/30/70.
Preparation Periods
Elementary specialists and special education teachers will now be entitled to receive 160 minutes per week of preparation time, to be scheduled during the workday in blocks of no less than 20 minutes and no more than 40 minutes per workday. As a result of this agreement, the NFT will withdraw its appeal pending in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. In addition, the NFT will withdraw its grievance regarding specialists’ and special education teachers’ preparation time.
Class Size
The class size limitations currently in the CBA will remain in effect and will apply on the first day of school. However, the District will be permitted to exceed the limitations by no more than two students in the classroom as long as the District-wide average for the grade level does not exceed the maximum contained in the CBA. For example, if a first grade class in a building has 26 students, the District-wide average for that grade must remain at no greater than 24 students. This will require a class with less than 24 students elsewhere in the District.
The Tentative Agreement contains an exception to this provision that would apply at Schweitzer Elementary School only. The District would be permitted to place additional students in the classroom in return for the presence of increased support aides. This exception will expire on June 28, 2016 and will not be considered the status quo for upcoming negotiations.
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“The financial obligations of this tentative agreement can be met under the current budget, requiring no tax increase for the 2015-2016 school year. This marks the sixth year in a row that Neshaminy School District has met its budgetary needs without a tax increase,” Neshaminy spokesman Chris Stanley said in a statement.
Stanley said the proposed contract “provides educational advantages for our students while allowing the District to retain needed flexibility.”
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The district and NFT began negotiations on the deal earlier this year and they continued up until early July.
The school board and teachers’ union are both under new leadership since the last deal was reached in 2013. English teacher and high school newspaper advisor Tara Huber was voted to replace former NFT President Louise Boyd after she stepped down and school board member Scott Congdon replaced former School Board President Ritchie Webb after he resigned.
The last contract came about after a messy five-year impasse that made national headlines. At the time of its signing, then-School Board President Webb said the deal would “restore Neshaminy’s reputation” as one of the best school districts in the state.
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Read the full Neshaminy statement:
The Neshaminy Federation of Teachers (NFT) met Monday evening, July 27 2015 to consider a one-year contract deal with Neshaminy School District. According to NFT officials, their membership approved the deal, which will next be considered by the Neshaminy School Board of Directors at a special public meeting Thursday, August 6 2015, 7 PM, in the District boardroom at Maple Point Middle School.
The tentative contract, reached after months of collective bargaining between the two sides, retroactively covers the period from July 1, 2015 up to June 30, 2016. The previous contract expired June 30, 2015.
The financial obligations of this tentative agreement can be met under the current budget, requiring no tax increase for the 2015-2016 school year. This marks the sixth year in a row that Neshaminy School District has met its budgetary needs without a tax increase.
The language of this agreement was carefully reviewed and provides educational advantages for our students while allowing the District to retain needed flexibility. Provisions pertaining to increased preparation time for certain teachers and class size resolve several long-running arbitrations and an appeals pending in the courts, thus saving the District litigation costs and resources and keeping the focus on educational programs.
More details about the terms of this agreement will be made available on the District web site, www.neshaminy.org.
Read the full NFT statement:
Following months of collective bargaining negotiations, the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers (NFT) has voted to ratify a contract agreement with the Neshaminy School District. The agreement is pending a vote of acceptance by the District’s Board of School Directors, to take place on August 6, 2015.
The tentative agreement is for a one-year contract, which will apply retroactively from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016.
“Tonight our members spoke, and collectively, we are happy to have ratified a bargaining agreement with the District,” said NFT President Tara Huber. “We think this agreement is beneficial for all parties involved. This agreement is affordable for the District, with equitable salary and health insurance conditions; fair for educators, who will have adequate preparation periods; and most importantly, great for Neshaminy’s students, who will benefit from class size limits. We await the School Board’s vote of acceptance in August.”
Barring the following exceptions, the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) will remain unchanged:
Salary
There will be no base salary increase, but there will be vertical step and horizontal movement for eligible staff. Proof of appropriate credits earned must be provided to the District by October 15, 2015, and credit will be applied retroactively to the beginning of the school year.
Health Insurance
Members will continue to be required to make premium contributions of 16% of the applicable premiums. The following Bucks and Montgomery County Schools Health Care Consortium preferred plans will now be available to all members and their dependents: Keystone Point Of Service 15, Personal Choice 10/20/70 and Personal Choice 20/30/70.
Preparation Periods
Elementary specialists and special education teachers will now be entitled to receive 160 minutes per week of preparation time, to be scheduled during the workday in blocks of no less than 20 minutes and no more than 40 minutes per workday. As a result of this agreement, the NFT will withdraw its appeal pending in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. In addition, the NFT will withdraw its grievance regarding specialists’ and special education teachers’ preparation time.
Class Size
The class size limitations currently in the CBA will remain in effect and will apply on the first day of school. However, the District will be permitted to exceed the limitations by no more than two students in the classroom as long as the District-wide average for the grade level does not exceed the maximum contained in the CBA. For example, if a first grade class in a building has 26 students, the District-wide average for that grade must remain at no greater than 24 students. This will require a class with less than 24 students elsewhere in the District.
The Tentative Agreement contains an exception to this provision that would apply at Schweitzer Elementary School only. The District would be permitted to place additional students in the classroom in return for the presence of increased support aides. This exception will expire on June 28, 2016 and will not be considered the status quo for upcoming negotiations.
