Seniors want say in contract talks

From the BCCT.

Seniors can and should have a say. It's when the seniors have the complete and final say that there's a problem. The needs of the students and the parents need to be part of the balanced equation.

It's just not as simple as "Don't raise my taxes."

Seniors want say in contract talks
By RACHEL CANELLI

Residents can question their school board representatives.

Lower Southampton hopes to give senior citizens a voice in the ongoing Neshaminy teacher labor contract talks.

The township's Senior Task Force Board is hosting a public meeting in the Lower Southampton Library's community room this afternoon to let residents express concerns and seek answers to their questions from school board representatives Joseph Blasch and Kim Koutsouradis.

The teachers have been working without a contract since June and district administrators are projecting a $14 million deficit and a potential average tax increase of $500.

The gathering, which will also address the contract's effect on property taxes, is open to the public, according to former Neshaminy school board member Sue Barrett.

"We know that the school board's listening, but nobody's negotiating for us," said 68-year-old Cynthia Zengolewicz, chairwoman of the task force board. "We don't really feel that we're being heard as a people."

The goal of the informal session is to create a committee that will recommend solutions to the school board, Zengolewicz said.

The Neshaminy Federation of Teachers recently turned down the school board's proposed 3 percent salary increase, which includes step pay increases for longevity and education, and a requirement that teachers pay 15, 16 and 17 percent for health care premiums over a three-year contract, officials said.

The union countered with an offer seeking a 6 percent annual salary increase, including steps, and a continuation of the current health care package, with teachers not contributing anything to their premiums, administrators said.

Neshaminy, which operates 14 public schools in Middletown, Lower Southampton, Penndel, Langhorne Manor and Hulmeville, is the only district in Bucks County where employees pay nothing toward insurance premiums. Union members do pay $15 for doctor visits and $5 and $20 for generic and brand-name drugs, respectively, through Personal Choice, the district's human resources department reported.

District educator salaries start at an average of $51,976 after experience and education and top out at roughly $95,923. The average Neshaminy teacher's salary is $76,000, administrators said.

The salary and benefits for the district's staff, which includes more than 700 teachers, accounts for more than 80 percent of Neshaminy's budget, officials said.