NFT Will Not Return to Work Tuesday

In a letter to the Neshaminy community, school board President Ritchie Webb said that the district's teachers will not be returning to work Tuesday.

The , according to an open letter sent to Patch by Neshaminy School Board President Ritchie Webb.

"I am greatly disappointed, but not surprised since the NFT leadership has shown no regard for the rule of law in the past. Why would we expect them now to honor Act 88, which requires the NFT to return to teaching?" Webb wrote.

According to Webb, Act 88 requires the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers to allow 10 days for the Neshaminy School Board to respond to their request for binding arbitration; the act also requires that during that time no strike may occur.

Friday, January 13, if the school board agreed to negotiate around the clock. In the same letter addressed to Webb, which was also issued to multiple media outlets, NFT President Louise Boyd said that should neither side reach an agreement in around the clock negotiations, "all remaining disputes would be submitted to final and binding arbitration before an arbitrator selected from a list of seven names provided by the American Arbitration Association."

In Webb's letter, he said that the NFT claims that it did not propose binding arbitration, but the union's spokesperson Bob Schiers told the Philadelphia Inquirer January 13 that this is the first time the NFT has offered binding arbitration.

"Obviously, this attempt at binding arbitration is a NFT ploy designed to mislead the public and the board, knowing full well that past experiences with arbitrators tend to favor the union," Webb stated.

In addition, Webb said that the board will negotiate as often as the Bureau of Mediation can schedule meetings "only after the teachers return to work."