New bid tabulations received

Below are two (2) of the latest outsourcing bid tabulations received in response to District RFP's. The first is a bid for Grounds Keeping Services, and the second is for Food Services.

The most favorable bid for Grounds Keeping came from a vendor named Townscapes Inc, who offered Neshaminy a first year savings of $273,641. As the savings grows each year, the projected 5-year total savings if this support service is outsourced will exceed $1.5 million.

Unlike the other services being considered for outsourcing, Food Services is cost-neutral to the District since it is subsidized through the revenue it generates. However, the most attractive vendor for this service, Metz & Associates, has guaranteed Neshaminy $55,000 annual revenue which can be used to offset other operational costs within the District.

The Board will continue to negotiate in good faith with NESPA while it accumulates comparative data regarding relative costs of support staff functions.

RFP Tabulation - Grounds Keeping 01142010

Bid Tabulation Food Services 01192010

NESPA Talks Continue

*** UPDATED February 12th ***
Due to inclement weather, this week's meeting with NESPA and the State-appointed Fact Finder was cancelled. Another meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 25th.

Board President Addresses Concerns over Outsourcing

The following letter from Ritchie Webb appeared in the Courier Times:

Recently there have been a number of letters published in the Courier Times that have criticized the Neshaminy School Board for considering outsourcing of support staff functions, saying that we show no concern for our employees or our students. I want to assure the public that this is simply not true.

Our Board conducts business with two guiding principles in mind:
1) Provide our students with quality education that will prepare them for adult life
2) Provide that education with respect to our community’s ability to fund it

The excessive nature of Neshaminy’s labor costs has been well documented and I don’t need to restate the obvious. So let’s just skip to the bottom line – as of this moment we are faced with a $7 million deficit for the 2010/2011 school year, which is well in excess of the State-mandated Act 1 inflationary limit and is far more than what our tax payers can afford. This leaves us with two alternatives:
A. Reduce our operating expenses
B. Cut educational programs

The problem with option B is that it goes against the guiding principles previously noted. Our school district exists for the purpose of educating and nurturing and preparing our children. Depriving these young people of programs that educate them or enhance their learning experience is not an option this board is willing to consider. And so that leaves us with only one choice – reduce operating expenses.

It is the sincerest wish of the Neshaminy School Board that we resolve the impasses with our teachers and support staff employees soon, however we cannot – we must not – shirk our responsibilities to Neshaminy’s students. Time is running out, and soon we will be faced with very difficult decisions if we cannot restructure our labor agreements. It is not a situation that any school board wants to find itself in but it is one that this Board is committed to addressing.

I cannot predict what will happen in the next few months but I can promise you this – Whatever we as a Board decide to do, it will be done with the best interests of our students in mind. After all, they are the reason we are here.

If any Neshaminy resident has questions or comments regarding this matter, please contact me at rwebb@neshaminy.k12.pa.us.

Ritchie Webb
President, Neshaminy School Board of Directors

Meetings continue; Outsourcing update

1. NFT – The Board’s Negotiating Team met with representatives from the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers on Monday, January 11th. The newest members of the Board’s team were introduced as negotiations continued. Although both sides remain far apart over key issues, we did agree to another negotiation session in the near future (date tbd).

2. NESPA – The Board has requested for a state-appointed fact finder to review the facts surrounding negotiations with the District’s Support Worker’s union. Meetings with the fact finder will take place on February 11th and February 25th, and we anticipate they will render their findings in late March 2010.

3. Outsourcing – Below are two (2) bid tabulations. The first is an amended bid for Custodial Services which was expanded from three years to five years in response to public concern that cost savings of outsourcing would only last for the first three years. As the bid tabulation below shows, the 5-year savings is projected to be nearly $14.4 million.

The second bid tabulation is for Transportation Services. The most favorable bid came from FIRST STUDENT, which offers Neshaminy a potential savings of $16 million over five (5) years. FIRST STUDENT is a reputable company with excellent references and financial status. They have the largest market share (larger than the next 10 competitors combined) in the US and Canada for the Student Transportation marketplace. They operate over 60,000 buses daily transporting 4 million students in 1500 districts in 40 States and 8 Canadian provinces, including 70 PA School Districts. All drivers are required to take drug and alcohol tests, and also required to pass FBI fingerprinting test, PA State Police check for criminal record, and PA child abuse checks.

As part of the proposal, FIRST STUDENT would purchase Neshaminy's bus fleet and rent the district's garage and office space. Additionally, more than 90 percent of Neshaminy's existing staff would be retained at their same pay rate - about $21 an hour for bus drivers.

The Board will continue to negotiate in good faith with NESPA while it accumulates comparative data regarding relative costs of support staff functions.

Bid Tabulation All Custodial Services 5 Year 01142010

Bid Tabulation Transportation 01142010

Judges Uphold School Board Position

On December 8, 2009 a three judge panel of the Commonwealth Court issued an opinion upholding the position of the Neshaminy School Board concerning an appeal filed by the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers from a Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board decision. That PLRB decision had also been in favor of the Neshaminy School Board in refusing to issue a complaint in response to the NFT's charge of unfair labor practices because of the District's failure to pay periodic wage increases for additional academic credits earned while collective bargaining continued. In effect, the Commonwealth Court and the Labor Board have both decided, once again, that until a contract settlement is reached and ratified by both parties, no wage or salary increases are due to be paid.

The NFT contract expired on June 30, 2008. The School Board has withdrawn all offers of any salary increase for the 2008-2009 school year, and is now bargaining about what salary increases will be paid for the 2009-2010 school year and thereafter. No bargaining sessions are currently scheduled. The Board negotiation committee has remained in contact with the State Mediator, John Cairns, who is assigned to the case, and who will bring the parties together again at his discretion.

NESPA Contract Update

As previously stated on this site, the Board has begun the process of investigating the savings that could be realized by contracting out some of our support staff functions to third parties. Although no final decisions regarding third-party contracting have been made, the district has now received and evaluated the bids for second shift janitorial services for all School District buildings. This is one of several support staff functions that will be reviewed in light of third-party contracting options.

The most attractive bid came from Pritchard Industries, a highly reputable professional services company whose reduced costs of service offer Neshaminy a potential three year savings of $7,216,157. It should be noted that each Pritchard Industries' employee would be required to pass an FBI finger printing test, PA State Police check for criminal record and the PA child abuse check before being permitted to work in the District.

After determining that Pritchard Industries responded with the appropriate bid for second shift janitorial services, the District then provided Pritchard with an RFP for first shift janitorial services. The potential savings for outsourcing this support function equals $1,783,307 over three years.

The total savings offered by Pritchard Industries over three years for both first and second shift janitorial services is $8,999,464.

Below is the final bid tabulation of all vendors considered for second shift janitorial services, followed by the subsequent RFP for first shift janitorial services, and then a summary of potential savings should the Board pursue the outsourcing option for these services:

The Board will continue to negotiate in good faith with NESPA while it accumulates comparative data regarding relative costs of support staff functions. .

District and Union Proposals for the Support Staff Contract

The Neshaminy School District has a valuable, hard-working support staff that includes custodial, grounds and maintenance workers, bus drivers, food service workers, secretaries and instructional aides. The staff, represented by the Neshaminy Educational Support Professional Association (NESPA), includes 270 full-time and 284 part-time positions. Full-time employees receive generous benefits that are very similar to the package that has been provided to certified teaching staff; part-time employees do not receive benefits. The NESPA contract expired on June 30, 2009, and the support staff has been working under the terms of the expired contract since that time.

While the Board of course wishes to support these hard-working employees, the same financial pressures that are causing us to ask for substantial changes in the teachers' contract apply to the support staff as well. Put simply, the District and its taxpayers can no longer afford to provide excessive benefits to this or any other employee group. To ascertain just how expensive these benefits are for full-time support staff, the Board has begun the process of investigating the savings that could be realized by contracting out some of this work to third parties. No final decisions regarding third-party contracting have been made.

A summary of the major proposals made by each side to date is provided below. Please note that the District positions discussed below are meant to describe the Board's current proposals, but should not be interpreted as our official position in the event of fact-finding or other legal proceedings.

Contract Length and Outsourcing
The Board proposal calls for a 3-year contract with an agreement not to outsource any work for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 contract years.

The Union has asked for a 5-year contract with no change to the language regarding third-party contracting.

Wages
The Board initially proposed 3% raises in each year. After further bargaining that involved a reduction in proposed employee contributions to health care premiums (see below), the Board prepared a counteroffer that included a reduction in the offered wage increase in the first year to help offset some of the increased health care costs the District would incur. The Board's current offer proposes annual wage increases of 1%, 3% and 3%.

The Union proposes annual wage increases of 0% in the first year (provided there is no employee contribution to health care premiums), 3.5% in each of the following 3 years, and 4% in the fifth year.

Medical Benefits
The base medical plan in the expired contract is Blue Cross PC-15 (the same plan that covers the teaching staff), with no employee contribution to premiums.

The Board initially proposed to change the base medical plan to PC 20/30/70 with 15%, 16% and 17% employee contributions over three years - these are the same provisions offered to the teachers' union, and which administrators and administrative support personnel currently have.

The Union did not accept the Board's offer, and after further bargaining, the Board's current offer is to change the base medical plan to Blue Cross C3-F3-O1, with employee contributions of 10%, 11% and 12% over three years.

The Union's proposal is to keep the PC-15 plan, with employee contributions of 0%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% over five years.

Prescription Drug Benefits
The drug benefit plan in the expired contract is Rx 5/20 with no employee contribution to premiums, and with a "single source" provision where brand-name drugs are offered with the lower generic co-pay if no generic equivalent exists. As we have stated with regard to the teachers' contract (which has the same provision), to our knowledge no other District provides this benefit for employees. District-wide the single source provision costs taxpayers over $1 million annually.

After the Union rejected the Board's initial offer of Rx 5/30 with no single source and 15%, 16% and 17% employee contributions, the Board has proposed to change the drug benefit to Rx 5/30/50 including a formulary, and to eliminate the single source provision, with employee contributions of 10%, 11% and 12% over three years.

The Union's proposal is to keep the current Rx 5/20 plan with continued single source and employee premium contributions of 0%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% over five years.

Opt-Out and Double-Dipping
The expired contract provides "opt-out" benefits whereby eligible full-time employees who choose not to participate in some or all aspects of the health insurance packages receive a share of the savings that the District realizes from not providing such coverages. There is a loophole in the expired contract that allows an employee whose spouse is also a District employee to receive these opt-out payments even though they are covered by their spouse's enrollment.

The Board proposes to eliminate this "double-dipping" provision. The Union opposes any change.

Retiree Benefits
Under the expired contract, eligible retirees and their spouses receive full medical, drug, dental and vision coverage until age 65 with no premium contributions. Eligibility depends on age at retirement and years of service. Retirees who do not meet the age or years of service requirements may remain in the group medical plan by purchasing coverage at District cost; in addition they are eligible to receive single prescription drug coverage at no cost until age 65, and may purchase family coverage at District cost.

The Board proposes to eliminate these retirement benefits, to be replaced with a provision allowing all eligible retirees to remain in the group medical plan at District cost. The Union opposes any changes to retiree benefits (except that retirees will be placed into the same base medical plan as active employees).

Emergency Shut Downs
Under the expired contract, when an emergency occurs and an employee is sent home before the normal shift is terminated, they are guaranteed pay for at least two hours of service for that day.

The Board proposes to eliminate this provision, and the Union agrees.

Job Elimination Wage Protection
Under the expired contract, if a position is eliminated and the affected employee is reassigned to another position that has a lower wage, then the employee does not receive any reduction in pay.

The Board proposes to eliminate this provision. The Union opposes any change to this provision.

Drug Testing
The Board proposes that each NESPA member be required to undergo a drug test at the District's discretion. The Union opposes this proposal.

Sick Leave
Under the expired contract, full-time employees are entitled to 12 sick days per year; eligible part-time employees are entitled to 4 sick days per year.

The Board proposes that sick days should no longer count as time worked for the purpose of calculating overtime. The Union opposes this proposal.

Work Rights for Employees Active as of June 30, 1993
Current employees who were active as of June 30, 1993 enjoy several "grandfathered" protections relating to insurance benefits, protection from reduction of regular work hours, part-time benefits, and personal holidays.

The Board proposes to eliminate these special provisions for such employees. The Union opposes changes to these provisions.


The Board has a strong preference to reach a comprehensive, fair agreement with its support staff employees without the need to outsource work. To that end, we believe the proposals we have made represent reasonable changes that will allow employees to continue to enjoy job security along with generous benefit provisions.

However, the Union's refusal to adequately address the above issues, related primarily to benefits for full-time workers, leaves us little choice but to continue to consider contracting with third parties as a partial solution to the financial challenges we face.