Follow the link below to see the 201 side letter agreements, or MOU's, that are considered to be part of the district's collective bargaining agreement with the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers (NFT).
Monday, March 25, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
201: A Neshaminy Odyssey
During the last meeting between representatives from the Neshaminy School Board and the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers (NFT), it was agreed that the union would turn over to the district its entire collection of supplementary covenants to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
More commonly referred to as “side letters” or MOU’s (memorandum of understanding), these agreements have long been a source of controversy in Neshaminy because they were arrangements between the NFT and district administration, almost all of them without school board knowledge or approval. In many cases, these MOU’s obligated the district to abide by some extreme policies with far reaching operational and economic implications.
Some of the more infamous agreements include the $27,500 retirement perk, and the insurance opt-out compensation plan. There are many MOU’s out there, many of which the district had lost track of. But what the NFT recently revealed came as a complete surprise to the members of the school board – an accumulation of 201 MOU’s.
While some of the agreements are fairly trivial in nature, others are counterproductive and unreasonable. Several notable examples are:
• Security badges for teachers – a prudent security measure – can be encouraged, but not required
• The district cannot “demand or coerce” the teachers to complete performance assessments, which help the district assess the students’ grasp of curriculum while providing program effectiveness data, but rather the completion of such assessments could only be encouraged
• The insurance and dental opt-out programs, which compensate employees 37% of premium costs if they do not participate in the district’s insurance plans, are extended to retirees
• A retiring or terminated teacher under the age of 55 who withdraws money from their Neshaminy investment program will receive from the district an amount equal to the 10% early withdrawal penalty imposed by the IRS
School board president, Ritchie Webb, expressed his concern about the impact the many MOU’s have on teacher accountability and student achievement.
“Years ago, Neshaminy adopted an educational philosophy known as the Essential Elements of Instruction. Now I ask you to consider the very first word of that phrase – Essential. However, one of the MOU’s says that while EEI has been effective, teachers are concerned about the prospect of EEI’s practices becoming a basis for observation and evaluation. The MOU goes on to say that EEI practices will not be used as part of teacher observations.”
Webb continued, “This contradicts the philosophy of sound education – we find out what is essential and then hold no one accountable to it.”
The board plans on making all 201 MOU’s available to the public as soon as a thorough internal review has been completed. In the meantime, Mr. Webb is drafting a board motion which, if approved, would forbid such agreements in the future without board approval.
“Council Rock had only a few side agreements to their CBA,” Webb noted, “and those are being incorporated into their contract.”
Webb went on to say that he was “greatly disappointed” by previous district administrators for making such agreements without the board’s knowledge. “For reasons I cannot comprehend, our administrators feel like they have to walk into every meeting with the NFT waiving a white flag of surrender,” Webb said.
Webb summarized his feelings of the MOU’s by saying, “This is why union officials are refusing to give up on past practices as a contract demand. They say it’s because past practice is fair, and it somehow benefits our students. But one glance at some of these side agreements proves beyond any reasonable doubt that past practice exists solely for the benefit of the union, often to the detriment of the district and our children.”
Mr. Webb emphasized the importance of eliminating past practice by saying, “We now have a dynamic superintendent in place with the vision and ability to lead our district forward, and this board will not saddle him with a teachers’ contract that stifles progress.”
Webb concluded, “It should be obvious to the union that the board can never agree to past practice, which is the last major obstacle to a new teachers’ contract. The time has come for NFT officials to let their members vote on the board’s offer, and they should do so immediately before the board votes in May to take salary increases for the current school year off the table permanently. Sadly, union officials aren’t showing any sense of urgency in giving their membership a real voice concerning the board’s offer.”
Click here to see the Side Letter Agreements cited in Mr. Webb's statement
More commonly referred to as “side letters” or MOU’s (memorandum of understanding), these agreements have long been a source of controversy in Neshaminy because they were arrangements between the NFT and district administration, almost all of them without school board knowledge or approval. In many cases, these MOU’s obligated the district to abide by some extreme policies with far reaching operational and economic implications.
Some of the more infamous agreements include the $27,500 retirement perk, and the insurance opt-out compensation plan. There are many MOU’s out there, many of which the district had lost track of. But what the NFT recently revealed came as a complete surprise to the members of the school board – an accumulation of 201 MOU’s.
While some of the agreements are fairly trivial in nature, others are counterproductive and unreasonable. Several notable examples are:
• Security badges for teachers – a prudent security measure – can be encouraged, but not required
• The district cannot “demand or coerce” the teachers to complete performance assessments, which help the district assess the students’ grasp of curriculum while providing program effectiveness data, but rather the completion of such assessments could only be encouraged
• The insurance and dental opt-out programs, which compensate employees 37% of premium costs if they do not participate in the district’s insurance plans, are extended to retirees
• A retiring or terminated teacher under the age of 55 who withdraws money from their Neshaminy investment program will receive from the district an amount equal to the 10% early withdrawal penalty imposed by the IRS
School board president, Ritchie Webb, expressed his concern about the impact the many MOU’s have on teacher accountability and student achievement.
“Years ago, Neshaminy adopted an educational philosophy known as the Essential Elements of Instruction. Now I ask you to consider the very first word of that phrase – Essential. However, one of the MOU’s says that while EEI has been effective, teachers are concerned about the prospect of EEI’s practices becoming a basis for observation and evaluation. The MOU goes on to say that EEI practices will not be used as part of teacher observations.”
Webb continued, “This contradicts the philosophy of sound education – we find out what is essential and then hold no one accountable to it.”
The board plans on making all 201 MOU’s available to the public as soon as a thorough internal review has been completed. In the meantime, Mr. Webb is drafting a board motion which, if approved, would forbid such agreements in the future without board approval.
“Council Rock had only a few side agreements to their CBA,” Webb noted, “and those are being incorporated into their contract.”
Webb went on to say that he was “greatly disappointed” by previous district administrators for making such agreements without the board’s knowledge. “For reasons I cannot comprehend, our administrators feel like they have to walk into every meeting with the NFT waiving a white flag of surrender,” Webb said.
Webb summarized his feelings of the MOU’s by saying, “This is why union officials are refusing to give up on past practices as a contract demand. They say it’s because past practice is fair, and it somehow benefits our students. But one glance at some of these side agreements proves beyond any reasonable doubt that past practice exists solely for the benefit of the union, often to the detriment of the district and our children.”
Mr. Webb emphasized the importance of eliminating past practice by saying, “We now have a dynamic superintendent in place with the vision and ability to lead our district forward, and this board will not saddle him with a teachers’ contract that stifles progress.”
Webb concluded, “It should be obvious to the union that the board can never agree to past practice, which is the last major obstacle to a new teachers’ contract. The time has come for NFT officials to let their members vote on the board’s offer, and they should do so immediately before the board votes in May to take salary increases for the current school year off the table permanently. Sadly, union officials aren’t showing any sense of urgency in giving their membership a real voice concerning the board’s offer.”
Click here to see the Side Letter Agreements cited in Mr. Webb's statement
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Board: Teachers fear NFT leadership
Meeting #68 Update:
Tonight's meeting lasted approximately 3 hours, but the parties did not meet face to face. And regrettably there is no progress to report.
After another round of talks with no movement by union officials the Board is more convinced then ever that our contract proposal should be voted on by the teachers.
We reject Ms Boyd's claim that the parliamentary maneuver of a voice vote during an informal meeting reflects the will of the certified staff. We believe it reflects their fear of the NFT leadership, and we are confident that the overwhelming majority of teachers would vote for the proposal if an actual secret ballet vote were held. And it is with them in mind that the Board decided to leave its offer on the table.
If we are wrong and our offer is rejected then at least we can withdraw our proposal and restart negotiations in good conscience that all other options have been exhausted.
No new dates have been set for negotiations.
Tonight's meeting lasted approximately 3 hours, but the parties did not meet face to face. And regrettably there is no progress to report.
After another round of talks with no movement by union officials the Board is more convinced then ever that our contract proposal should be voted on by the teachers.
We reject Ms Boyd's claim that the parliamentary maneuver of a voice vote during an informal meeting reflects the will of the certified staff. We believe it reflects their fear of the NFT leadership, and we are confident that the overwhelming majority of teachers would vote for the proposal if an actual secret ballet vote were held. And it is with them in mind that the Board decided to leave its offer on the table.
If we are wrong and our offer is rejected then at least we can withdraw our proposal and restart negotiations in good conscience that all other options have been exhausted.
No new dates have been set for negotiations.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
NFT wants the money, not the language of Board's final offer
Meeting Number 67 Update:
Tonight the Board and the NFT met for 20 minutes face to face. The board restated its belief that the NFT should allow their membership to vote on the Council Rock salary propsal with Council Rock working conditions. The NFT position is that their membership has already spoken and have refused to vote on the Council Rock proposal.
It is the position of the Board's negotiation team that we have provided the NFT with a final proposal that is both generous and well within accepted language for bucks county schools. The NFT is interested in the Council Rock money but not in its language, which is tantamount to rejecting our offer.
The Board will honor its commitment to attend the meeting previously scheduled for next Wednesday, February 13th.
Tonight the Board and the NFT met for 20 minutes face to face. The board restated its belief that the NFT should allow their membership to vote on the Council Rock salary propsal with Council Rock working conditions. The NFT position is that their membership has already spoken and have refused to vote on the Council Rock proposal.
It is the position of the Board's negotiation team that we have provided the NFT with a final proposal that is both generous and well within accepted language for bucks county schools. The NFT is interested in the Council Rock money but not in its language, which is tantamount to rejecting our offer.
The Board will honor its commitment to attend the meeting previously scheduled for next Wednesday, February 13th.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Board frustrated by lack of progress at tonight's meeting
Meeting #66 Update
The Board entered tonight's session with a sincere sense of urgency to move the process forward, but we were disappointed by the NFT's apparent disregard for the situation and unpreparedness to tackle the important issues.
The parties met for more than three hours, however, there were no face-to-face talks as the mediator chose to conduct separate discussions. The Board conveyed to the mediator its desire to address the most significant issues separating the two sides, such as Past Practice, but when the mediator returned to the room after meeting with the NFT, he could only share the more trivial issues that union leaders were willing to discuss.
Recognizing our frustration, the mediator urged the Board not to pull its offer but rather encouraged us to agree to further sessions. After some consideration, the Board agreed to another meeting on February 6th, and again on February 13th, if necessary.
We remain convinced that the Board's final offer is in the best interests of the teachers and our students, and we hope the union leaders will allow the membership an opportunity exercise its right to vote on a settlement. However, if NFT negotiators continue to drag out talks without progress such as we saw this evening, then regrettably the teachers may never get that chance.
We feel for the Neshaminy community, its children and our teachers. And the Board continues to demonstrate its good faith by agreeing to further discussions with the NFT. We now look to union leaders to reestablish their commitment to ending this impasse.
The Board entered tonight's session with a sincere sense of urgency to move the process forward, but we were disappointed by the NFT's apparent disregard for the situation and unpreparedness to tackle the important issues.
The parties met for more than three hours, however, there were no face-to-face talks as the mediator chose to conduct separate discussions. The Board conveyed to the mediator its desire to address the most significant issues separating the two sides, such as Past Practice, but when the mediator returned to the room after meeting with the NFT, he could only share the more trivial issues that union leaders were willing to discuss.
Recognizing our frustration, the mediator urged the Board not to pull its offer but rather encouraged us to agree to further sessions. After some consideration, the Board agreed to another meeting on February 6th, and again on February 13th, if necessary.
We remain convinced that the Board's final offer is in the best interests of the teachers and our students, and we hope the union leaders will allow the membership an opportunity exercise its right to vote on a settlement. However, if NFT negotiators continue to drag out talks without progress such as we saw this evening, then regrettably the teachers may never get that chance.
We feel for the Neshaminy community, its children and our teachers. And the Board continues to demonstrate its good faith by agreeing to further discussions with the NFT. We now look to union leaders to reestablish their commitment to ending this impasse.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Talks yield progress on three key issues
Meeting number 65 lasted more than 5-1/2 hours as representatives from the Neshaminy School Board and the NFT made progress on some unresolved contract language during last night's talks.
Three significant issues were addressed:
* Equal Voice language will be removed from the contract
* Requests for personal days will be made with 5 days notice, when possible
* The District's language on grade changes has been accepted
Language changes were agreed to as both sides acknowledged that teacher input is essential to the success of the school district.
Since both sides displayed a willingness to continue working towards a settlement, they agreed to meeting again next Thursday, January 24th at 6pm.
Three significant issues were addressed:
* Equal Voice language will be removed from the contract
* Requests for personal days will be made with 5 days notice, when possible
* The District's language on grade changes has been accepted
Language changes were agreed to as both sides acknowledged that teacher input is essential to the success of the school district.
Since both sides displayed a willingness to continue working towards a settlement, they agreed to meeting again next Thursday, January 24th at 6pm.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
New meeting scheduled
At the request of the Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation, William Gross, the negotiation teams from the Neshaminy School Board and the NFT will meet next Thursday, January 17th.
We will keep you informed of any developments.
We will keep you informed of any developments.
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