Neshaminy Teachers to Vote on School Board's 'Final Offer'

During what the Neshaminy School Board called "perhaps the most productive negotiation session ever," the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers informed them that the board's "final offer" will be brought before the rank and file teachers for a vote.

According to school board President Ritchie Webb, this final offer is based on the Council Rock School District contract. If the union members approve this offer, the school board will release the details of its proposal to the public for review and comment and will then vote on the proposal at a public meeting.

However, if the offer is not approved by NFT membership, the board will withdraw the proposal.

"The fate of these negotiations now rests solely with the NFT. The decision to end this impasse is in their hands. The board has given the teachers a fair and generous contract proposal, and it all comes down to how union leaders present the offer to the rank and file,” Webb stated.

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Both sides met to continue contract talks Tuesday night during which time they met for about six hours mostly face to face. When the meeting was coming to a close, Webb said that there were still about "a half dozen issues that the two sides remained apart on, including equal say and past practice."

As a part of the Council Rock offer, fulltime teachers at the lower end of the salary matrix (Bachelors plus 12 credits) will receive no less than a $6,121 (14.38 percent) increase over the next year, while most max level teachers will see an $8,402 (8.76 percent) boost in their base pay. Some teachers in the middle of the salary matrix will earn a significantly higher pay hike. There are more than 75 teachers who will receive an increase greater than $20,000.

The average increase for all teachers for the next 12 months will be 17.81 percent. Under the current Neshaminy CBA, the maximum base salary is $95,923. Upon ratification of this proposal, the new maximum base salary will jump to $104,325, and it will increase to $107,469 by the end of the 3-year contract.

At this time, no more contract negotiations have been scheduled.