AN OPEN LETTER TO THE NESHAMINY SCHOOL COMMUNITY

“NESHAMINY SCHOOL BOARD: STOP FAILING OUR STUDENTS”

For nearly three years, the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers (NFT) has
continuously pressed the Neshaminy School Board to negotiate a fair and
equitable contract. As all the stakeholders in this grueling process know, it has
not been pretty. In fact, at times it has been downright nasty. This past
December, the NFT publicly called on the District for a return to civility among all
those concerned about students and learning in Neshaminy’s public schools –
regardless of the ongoing contract negotiations between the NFT and the school
district.

At that point in time, NFT President Louise Boyd stated that, despite the fact the
certified staff of the NFT has worked three years without a contract, they were
subjected to nasty rhetoric on a daily basis. Most of it came from board
members and a small faction of anti-union zealots.

Fortunately, Boyd’s words did not fall entirely on deaf ears. Since then, some of
the District’s rhetoric has toned down. So has some of the divisive public
rhetoric, save for a few self-serving members of the public who remain bent on
continuing their personal attacks and character assassinations as opposed to
offering constructive dialog and workable solutions. Remarkably, the Bucks
County Courier Times, who we believe fomented much of the past rhetoric, took
a close look at its editorial stance and called for a new era of civility and
compromise from ALL stakeholders in this dispute. We applaud that effort and
we hope it continues. All of which brings us to the most critical element in this
equation – the students of Neshaminy. The failure of the Neshaminy School
Board to resolve these contract issues through collective bargaining means the
educational process continues to suffer.

The NFT has continuously advocated for educational collaboration. In

December, Boyd challenged the school board directors and administrators to
focus on finding common ground with teachers across the bargaining table. She
challenged school officials to “recommit themselves to working together with
classroom educators to set policies and priorities that will guarantee students
continue to receive the quality education they and their parents have come to
expect from the Neshaminy School District.
“For those who will point to our recent Work To Contract action as an example of
our not caring about our students, I submit the exact opposite is true,” Boyd said.
“Work To Contract was absolutely necessary for us to clearly and effectively
demonstrate that we do far more than ‘work just a few hours a day,’ as our
detractors falsely accuse. Work To Contract demonstrated that we work
tirelessly for our students and this school district. You will never hear an NFT
member gloat or brag about taking such a harsh stance against this district. But
understand this, our Work To Contract effort demonstrated our solidarity and
proved that we do far more good for our students than a handful of anti-union,
anti-teacher dissenters would have the public believe.”

Unfortunately, the District failed to collaborate on educational priorities. The

Neshaminy School District Cabinet recently completed a long-awaited plan
concerning its educational priorities. The plan, which did NOT include recent
input from certified staff, despite the NFT’s repeated requests to do so, was
presented to the Board on January 24, 2011. Not surprisingly, the plan was void
of details and specifics surrounding the educational process. Why? Because
this board can’t establish educational priorities without critical input from the
certified staff.

In the past, the NFT was a welcome part of this process. Today, because of the
board and administration’s bitterness towards unsettled contract issues, they are
playing a game of “educational chicken” with Neshaminy students. In the past,
the NFT worked closely with the District to develop highly detailed plans – plans
that served as a roadmap to making our district one of the most effective school
districts in the Commonwealth - outlining specific educational priorities for the
students of Neshaminy. By freezing teachers out of this process, the District has
once again failed our students. In January, Cabinet members outlined their
vision of educational priorities. After almost three months of developing said
plan, it is still nearly void of specifics. It lacks clarity. It lacks measurable goals
and objectives. Worst of all, it lacks vision and understanding that educational
priorities are a shared responsibility between the district and the certified staff.
It’s tragic they’ve wasted so much time by freezing the NFT out of the process.
Unfortunately, it’s the students who will suffer thanks to the District’s punitive
approach to developing educational priorities.

As Boyd has stated in the past, “A recent Rutgers University study concluded
school districts hoping to achieve improvement ‘must develop strong cultures of
collaboration that inform approaches to planning and decision making’.” Such
collaborations, Saul A. Rubenstine and John E. McCarthy wrote, “must cross a
wide spectrum of areas, including curriculum, teacher development and
evaluation, instructional methods, as well as hiring decisions by school boards
and superintendents.”

“What we saw in the District plan is anything but comprehensive,” Boyd said.
“The District needs to understand they can’t go at it alone. We need to work
together. The way to make it happen is at the bargaining table. We again
challenge the District to put our children first and negotiate a fair contract.”