Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Teacher Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press Haverford Township SD board on teacher contract, legal fees; call for public town hall
Summary
At its Nov. 20 meeting, the Haverford Township SD board heard forceful public comment about ongoing teacher contract negotiations, with speakers asking why the district has paid more than $53,000 to outside counsel and urging more transparent public engagement.
At the Haverford Township School District board meeting on Nov. 20, residents pressed directors for answers about the district’s ongoing teacher contract negotiations and legal spending.
“Who’s really negotiating?” asked Carol Taylor, a resident, criticizing the board’s public updates and saying she had stopped totaling legal bills “when it was over $53,000,” referring to payments to law firm Fox Rothschild for negotiation work. Taylor asked the board to hold a public question‑and‑answer session and to explain the objectives of the district’s negotiating position.
Danielle Vitale, speaking at her final meeting as a board director, criticized the board’s internal politics and said many teachers feel unheard. “The fact that most of you don’t care about and talk to our teachers was always painfully obvious to me,” Vitale said, urging the board to listen more closely to classroom staff.
Board leadership noted that bargaining activity had continued: the board’s bargaining team had met with the HCA bargaining team earlier in the week and the board reported an executive session on Nov. 12 “to receive information from and to discuss strategy with counsel related to the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement.” The district’s superintendent, Dr. Matthew Hayes, has held public meet‑and‑greets, the board said; Taylor renewed her call for a public town‑hall-style forum for board members to answer resident questions directly.
The board did not take formal action on the contract at the Nov. 20 meeting. The board’s next public reorganization meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1; a work session is scheduled for Dec. 4, when further updates could be provided.
What happened next: negotiations are ongoing and the board reported it will continue working with counsel; no formal contract vote occurred at this meeting.
