Neshaminy School Board President Addresses Issues with NFT

Neshaminy School Board President Ritchie Webb took time at the beginning and end of Tuesday evening's school board meeting to address and clarify current issues with the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers.

The first issue he discussed was . Not only did Webb say that this claim is false, but he noted that the district is not "sitting on piles of cash waiting to be spent on another collective bargaining agreement."

"There is no $21 million fund of unallocated money anywhere in our district. Period," Webb said.

Last week, the NFT issued a statement clarifying the $21 million fund claim, stating that it resulted from savings coming from .

However, last night Webb said that the board's calculations showed that the NFT's last offer would be a $9 million increase in costs over the next three years if that offer would be accepted.

"The board is committed to ongoing dialogue with the NFT as we work toward an affordable contract, however we cannot allow such an outrageous, inaccurate claim to be made to with public without setting the record straight," Webb said.

Just before adjorning the board meeting, Webb made another statement to make the public "aware of ongoing NFT efforts at using the legal system to strengthen their own position."

This week, Webb said, the board was notified that a grievance filed by a former teacher was upheld by an arbitrator even though it overturned a past practice of the district.

According to Webb, the disputed issue was about insurance coverage for a retiree's family. The district's past practice is that the number of family members covered under the health care plan could not be increased after a teacher retires.

"This practice is based on our understanding of the side letter that accompanied the 2002 CBA, which governs retiree benefits, including free insurance until age 65," he said.

The district's position was "hurt" byt the "surprise" appearance of a different version of the side letter, which was presented at the hearing by a former union official and was signed by a former board president, Webb said adding that neither district officials nor the school board knew of its existence.

The estimated cost of adding another person to a retiree's health care plan is $88,000 over the next five years, Webb said. The worst part of this, Webb said, is that not a single penny of that money will ever see a classroom.

Webb said that the NFT filed an unfair labor practice against the district after allowing an eigth grade student participate in a cyber charter school math program.

"I could come here and say 'I'd love to get this contract settled,' because I would...but the reality is they're not really interested in settling this and finding that happy medium, because there is not medium because we have to bargain what we can afford, but this is what they're really after," Webb said of the union's legal actions against the school board and district.