Negotiation Session Fails to Produce Any Results

The Neshaminy School Board and Neshaminy Federation of Teachers met Thursday night to negotiation terms of a new contract, however no progress was made.

During the meeting, the NFT presented the school board with a written proposal, which the union President Louise Boyd said served to "resolve a series of minor issues to which the Board had already agreed" -- the 12 items from the arbitrator's award that both sides agreed with.

School board President Ritchie Webb said that the proposal, however, contained wording that was "significantly different" from the original arbitrator’s wording, and the school board was unable to agree.

Webb and the board's lawyer, Charles Sweet, agreed to redraft the document and present it to the union for consideration at the next meeting, Boyd said.

The state-appointed mediator asked both sides to to review past proposals for any common ground, and to return to the next negotiation session on August 29 "with an open mind," Webb said.

Do you think both sides can come closer to an agreement before school starts? Let us know in the comments.