UPDATE: NSB: NFT President Louise Boyd 'Downplayed' Progress Made

Following Wednesday night's negotiation session, the Neshaminy School Board was "pleased" to report to the media that they had reach some agreement with the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers.

However, NFT President Louise Boyd said that the time spent reviewing the 12 items that both sides ultimately came to a tentative agreement on was "a waste of the NFT's time."

“Considering that more was accomplished last night than in the previous four years, I believe Ms. Boyd has done a great disservice to our negotiations by derailing some important progress both sides achieved," school board President Ritchie Webb said in a statement released Thursday.

According to Webb, the 12 items agreed to, which are from the arbitrator's award, including some "significant concessions" by the board. 

"For the very first time since talks began in 2008, we have a partial, tentative agreement over some key issues," he stated.

Following both sides agreeing to these items, the school board offered a new prescription proposal that Webb called "even more generous than what the NFT had originally requested." 

Though Webb said that these agreements are "baby steps in what will be a long journey to a resolution," he is "baffled" as to why Boyd "would downplay what happened."

"Are union leaders so intent on building the case for a strike that they won’t acknowledge positive developments to their own rank and file?" Webb asked.

"Given Ms. Boyd’s inappropriate behavior at Tuesday’s public board meeting, and now her refusal to acknowledge last night’s accomplishments, I have to wonder why she even bothers showing up for negotiations," he said. Boyd was heard laughing during the board's discussion of health care benefits and costs associated with them Tuesday evening.

Webb said that he hopes that union officials will show up for tonight's negotiation session with "a more positive, can-do approach."

UPDATE: According to Boyd, Webb misquoted her, but she said that the facts remain the same.

"They made us wait almost two hours for a minor change to one of 80 some unchanged items," Boyd told Patch, including a "5-year impasse, two strikes, court invention, hostile blogging, cutting programs, closing schools, and so on."

In addition, Boyd said she "chortled" Tuesday evening at board member Mike Morris's "inane questions and at the recommendation to splinter the co-curricular report."

"I'm being told that I interrupted the whole night...spin away," she said, asking if "community members are worried about that half hour or that this board continues to dismantle this school district piece by piece?"

Do you think that Boyd down played the progress made Wednesday night? Or do you agree with Webb's sentiments? Let us know in the comments.