Negotiations Remain 'Civil and Direct' Between NFT and Neshaminy School Board

For two and a half hours last night, the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers [NFT] and the school board's negotiation team met to work toward an end to a nearly four-year contract impasse.

According to the board's press release about the meeting, school board President Ritchie Webb and attorney Chuck Sweet "spent most of the evening in face-to-face discussions with NFT president Louise Boyd and their attorney, Tom Jennings."

The state mediator was not present for this meeting due to a prior commitment.

The board's release indicated that there was not much progress to report, but "the dialogue between both parties remained civil and direct."

According to Boyd's statement about the negotiation session, both parties discussed "the identity of and the costs for their various positions."

"Substantial efforts were made by the negotiators to identify the precise cost impacts of the principal issues separating the parties," Boyd stated.

No concessions were made by either party during the meeting and no tentative agreements were reached, but Webb did confirm "the top priorities including reiteration of the Board’s position that there would be no retroactive pay."

According to the board's release, the conversation focused on health care, contributions, retirement perks, longevity and other financial issues.

The release also stated that the NFT acknowledged they are now using the assistance of an American Federation of Teachers [AFT] representative from their research and information service department to help analyze the numbers. The NFT also acknowledged that the step costs reported by the board at the August 11 meeting were more accurate than their's, but "further refinement is necessary."

The next negotiation session was scheduled for August 29, which the release stated gives the board "time to gather information requested by NFT relative to contract costs." A state mediator will be available for the next meeting.