Thursday, May 1, 2008

Summary of District Proposal

  1. Increase the salary schedule by 1% annually. This equates to a 3.1% annual increase for returning staff.

  2. Increase the number of steps on salary schedule from 11 to 15 over 3 years. Most other districts in Bucks County have 14 or 15 steps.

  3. Eliminate longevity payments (current longevity payments will be grandfathered). Only three other districts in Bucks County currently provide longevity payments.

  4. Replace the current base medical benefits package (Blue Cross PC-15) with Keystone C1-F1-O1. Premium contributions (currently 0) will be 10% in 2008-09, 11% in 2009-10 and 12% in 2010-11, and will include contributions for the Prescription Drug component of the plan. Such contributions will also apply for dental and vision care benefits. PC-15 and PC-10/20/70 will be available as buy-up plans; employees electing either buy-up plan will pay 100% of the difference in cost between the buy-up plan and the base plan. Neshaminy is the only district in Bucks County where teachers do not make any premium contributions.

  5. Eliminate the retirement incentive package (which currently includes a $27,500 cash payment plus full health benefits coverage at no cost until age 65). No other district in Bucks County offers the combination of a significant cash incentive plus fully paid health benefits.

  6. Eliminate the Long Term Substitute Pool (LTSP), which requires the District to give preference to those in the LTSP when filling vacancies. No other district in Bucks County has such a requirement.

  7. Increase the number of work days from 188.5 to 190.5. The average in the rest of Bucks County is 192.5.

  8. Increase the length of the work day from 7.0 hours to 7.5 hours. Only two other districts in Bucks County have work days of less than 7.5 hours.

  9. Eliminate recognition of Master’s Equivalency (MEQ) certificates for salary purposes (current MEQ credentials will be grandfathered). No other district in Bucks County currently recognizes new MEQ credits for salary credit.

  10. Change six excused absence days per year to three personal leave days. Most other districts in Bucks County allow between two and four days of leave.

  11. Replace current required student/teacher ratios with those from the 1997-2002 Collective Bargaining Agreement. This would affect Grades K-5, resulting in the following changes in maximum class size:



K

Pre-First

1

2

3

4 and 5

Current

22

27

24

25

26

29

Proposed

27

20

27

28

29

33

  1. Institute a mandatory drug testing plan for certified staff.

at 12:00 PM