NFT Offers A Revised Verbal Proposal During Negotiations

The Neshaminy School Board's negotiation team and Neshaminy Federation of Teachers [NFT] met to negotiate for two and a half hours Monday night during which the NFT offered a revised verbal proposal.

According to a statement released by the school board, Board President Ritchie Webb and the board's attorney Chuck Sweet met with union President Louise Boyd and NFT attorney Tom Jennings to review the findings of the American Federation of Teacher’s [AFT] Washington, DC-based Research and Information Director with AFT Director of Research Jewell Gould at the request of the state mediator.

Gould "provided valuable assistance in costing out the positions of the parties," Boyd said in an e-mail Monday night. 

As this portion of the meeting ended, Webb reviewed the data with the rest of the board's negotiating team while the representatives from the NFT took a 50 minute caucus before returning with the revised proposal, as relayed in the board's statement.

According to the board's statement, Webb requested that the NFT put the revised proposal into writing so that the information could be shared with the rest of the school board.

"The Federation modified its May 31, 2011 proposal, which will be reduced to writing in the next several days," Boyd said.

Details of the NFT's revised proposal will be shared with the public once it has been formalized in writing and after the details have been vetted by the board, as has been board practice throughout these negotiations. Until that time, the school board will not comment on the contents of the latest counter offer.

"The meeting was useful in clarifying the competing positions that still separate the parties," Boyd said.

Both sides agreed to meet again on Wednesday, September 7th at 6pm.