NFT Leadership to Hold News Conference Aug. 23

Just before the Neshaminy School Board meeting, the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers leadership will hold a news conference outside of Maple Point Middle School tomorrow.

According to a media advisory, NFT President Louise Boyd and bargaining team members will address recent developments in contract talks with the Neshaminy School District.

In addition, Boyd will also discuss ongoing efforts by teachers to reach out to parents and others in the community.

Last week, a document that appeared to come from NFT leaders that informed union members how to conduct the phone conversations with parents, how to answer their questions and what to say if they "start bitching at you."

Neshaminy Superintendent Louise Muenker sent Boyd a letter Friday, August 19 that informed her that using the district's "confidential, proprietary database in order to obtain parent names and phone numbers for its union purposes" violates district policy.

"Such information is maintained by the district pursuant to state and federal laws and solely for education related purposes and is subject to board policies," Muenker continued.

In addition, Muenker wrote that the union's conduct must "cease immediately" and, if it continues, the NFT and its members will "be held responsible for any consequences."

"It was a poor choice of words in an internal document, and we regret that. That document was simply a set of general instructions for teachers who are not used to making such calls. And our guidance was that we do not want to get into disputes with those who have strong opinions that might be different from ours'," Boyd told Phillyburbs, and noted that the NFT "remains committed to reaching out and communicating with all community members — whether or not they share all of our views."