Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Officials from School Lane Charter School sought to merge the Neshaminy and Bensalem schools to create a regional organization.
The Neshaminy School Board struck down a request Tuesday night to merge School Lane Charter School's Neshaminy and Bensalem programs. The proposal would have combined both entities into a larger, regional charter school organization. Instead, both entities will remain independent educational facilities. "I did not want to see Neshaminy tax dollars go to another school district, which was a possibility with the merger," said board Vice President Scott Congdon, who led the meeting in school board President Ritchie Webb's absence. Kim Koutsouradis, William Oettinger and Anthony Sposato were also not present. "I spoke to other board members who were not here tonight, and the feeling was basically the same." The board also instructed solicitor …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Former school board member William O’Connor submitted this letter on the MaST Charter School application.
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Wednesday, February 13
Editor's Note: The following was submitted by former member of the Neshaminy School Board William O'Connor. He wrote down his personal views to be read into the record at Monday night's MaST Charter School hearing. O'Connor let us publish his remarks. A charter school is a lot like the back-up quarterback on a football team. Nobody knows they’re even around if the team is winning, but once fans see their team faltering, then everyone wants to give the #2 guy a chance to see what they can do. Such is the case with Neshaminy, where many parents are losing faith in our public education because of years of contract strife and power struggles with our teachers’ union. They see this as an opportunity to try something different, in hopes the …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
According to a Neshaminy School Board vote, MaST Charter School will not be coming to the district.
In a 4-3 vote on Monday night, the Neshaminy School Board denied MaST Charter School’s application to open a K-12 school within the district borders. Dozens of district taxpayers filled the board room at the administrative offices. Residents both for an opposed to the charter facility spoke during the hearing. In the end, board members Ritchie Webb, Irene Boyle, Mark Shubin and Scott Congdon voted against the application, while William Oettinger, Mike Morris and Anthony Sposato voted for it. Board members Kim Koutsouradis and Susan Cummings were absent from the meeting. Webb, board president, said after the meeting that the charter school not having a finalized location in the district was one of several reasons he voted against the …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Negotiations between the district and Neshaminy Federation of Teachers fell apart Wednesday night.
An end to the Neshaminy School District labor dispute does not appear any closer after Wednesday night's negotiation session, according to statements from the teacher's union and school board. "In a very disappointing turn of events, the School Board suddenly announced its intention to cease any further bargaining regarding the unresolved issues," a statement from the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers read. The school board's offer is based on the Council Rock School District contract. The contract, which was signed by Council Rock teachers in 2012, is the basis for Neshaminy's salary and working conditions proposal for teaching staff. The proposed contract eliminates provisions including equal say and past practice - two items that school …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
A Langhorne resident has proposed an out-of-the-box idea for the Neshaminy School District.
At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, Neshaminy School District taxpayer Charles Alfonso proposed turning all of the district’s schools over to MaST Charter School. Alfonso said the district's students are not getting a proper education and many have trouble because of “undereducation.” The Langhorne resident and frequent school board attendee offered his “heartfelt apology to Neshaminy graduates who struggled through college due to their education.” He cited the MaST Charter School’s praised teaching methods and modern technology which have helped make the school one of the top charter programs in the state. In his message to the board during public comment, Alfonso firmly said that he believes 80 percent of the district’s teaching …
Friday, January 25, 2013
During Thursday night's negotiation session, the Neshaminy School Board decided to not pull its "final offer" to the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers just yet.
In the 66th negotiation session, the Neshaminy School Board and Neshaminy Federation of Teachers met for more than three hours Thursday night, but never face to face -- the mediator chose to conduct separate discussions. School Board President Ritchie Webb said the board entered the meeting with "a sincere sense of urgency to move the process forward, but we were disappointed by the NFT's apparent disregard for the situation and unpreparedness to tackle the important issues." Webb also said the school board conveyed to the mediator its desire to address the most significant issues separating the both sides, including as past practice. However, Webb said, when the mediator returned to the room after meeting with the NFT, he could only share…
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Neshaminy School Board will meet at Maple Point Middle School tonight at 7 p.m.
Friday, January 18, 2013
During Thursday night's negotiation session, the Neshaminy School Board and Neshaminy Federation of Teachers were able to compromise on language about the "equal voice" issue.
Neshaminy School Board President Ritchie Webb has consistently assured the community that the board will not agree to a new contract that includes "equal voice" or "past practice." However, during Thursday night's negotiation session, the board and Neshaminy Federation of Teachers came to a compromise on equal voice. During the first negotiation session of 2013, most of the time was spent working to "refine a list compiled by the Federation of 69 items that are either unresolved or required clarification," as stated in a press release. During the face-to-face discussions, both sides agreed that more than a third of the items on the list could be considered resolved based on developments at the previous meeting on December 18. Through the …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Neshaminy School Board and district administration will hold a town hall teleconference tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 16.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The Neshaminy School Board and district administration will hold a town hall teleconference Wednesday.
Before the Neshaminy School Board and Neshaminy Federation of Teachers reconvene at the bargaining table this week, the school board and Neshaminy administration will hold a town hall teleconference Wednesday night. District residents will receive a call around 6:30 p.m. asking if they wish to join the teleconference. Residents can also listen to the teleconference online here: http://cast.teletownhall.us/web_client/?id=NeshaminySchools. Those listening online will not be able to submit questions. The purpose of the teleconference, according former school board member William O'Connor, will be to address questions surrounding the status of contract negotiations with the NFT. The next negotiation session is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 17.
BucksDad
9:07 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
It's ironic that the "backup quarterback" in this case is ranked #34 in the entire state while Neshaminy isn't even ranked. I think I'd make the switch at Quarterback in that case, unless you want to continue to lose of course. Maybe Mr O'Conner is hoping for a higher draft pick next year? more ›