OTTUMWA COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT CERTIFIED STAFF HANDBOOK

Transcription

1 OTTUMWA COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT CERTIFIED STAFF HANDBOOK

2 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Procedure for Bids & Transfers... 2 Procedure for Staff Reduction... 6

3 3 PROCEDURE FOR BIDS & TRANSFERS A. TRANSFERS After building assignments for upcoming in-school year have been officially made, movement of an Employee to a different assignment, grade level, subject area or building shall be considered a transfer. The Employer reserves the right to assign and/or transfer an employee(s) according to the needs of the School District. B. DEFINITIONS Vacancy: A vacant position exists when a regular contract position becomes available because of resignation, death, retirement, transfer or termination of an employee, or when a new position has been created. Bid/Voluntary Transfer: Movement initiated by an Employee from a current assignment to a vacant posted position. Involuntary Transfer: Movement initiated by the Employer from a current teaching assignment to another teaching assignment. Relocation: Movement of an existing category of job to a different building in the district due to the job no longer existing in the current building. C. BID/VOLUNTARY TRANSFER PROCEDURE: An Employee-requested transfer. 1. Notice of vacancies will be posted by the district human resources office and a link ed to staff. Posted positions will remain on the district human resources website for five (5) calendar days. All postings on the district human resources website will provide a closing date and time. 2. An employee(s) who wishes to transfer to a vacant position is required to apply via the internal human resources posting process prior to the posted deadline. 3. Employees that bid into a vacant position through the position bid process shall be granted an interview concerning their bid prior to the date of the final determination. Such interviews shall be conducted in such a way as to ensure timely consideration of the bid. Any employee denied a position for which he/she applied shall be notified of the decision in person. 4. The following criteria will be considered in determining voluntary transfers. The weight given each criterion will be determined in accord with the specific vacancy.

4 4 a. Licensure and Certification b. Relevant experience c. Specialized training and/or advanced degree d. Job alike experience, skills and abilities If the above criteria are deemed equal, the most senior applicant shall receive the bid. 5. In the event that a vacant position is not filled through the bid/voluntary transfer process and the involuntary transfer process is used to fill the vacancy, the least senior qualified employee (licensed and certified) will be transferred into the open position. 6. An Employee may request any number of voluntary transfers after assignments are made, but may not be granted any more than Two (2) actual voluntary transfer assignments. D. ELIGIBILITY FOR BID/VOLUNTARY TRANSFER 1. Any Employee who is involved in any phase of intensive assistance or who has received an overall unsatisfactory rating on their most recent evaluation may transfer only at the discretion of the Employer. 2. Any Employee who is hired to teach in a special education assignment and is in the first two years of that assignment may be denied the right to transfer into a regular education position for one year. 3. Any Employee who is hired to teach special education as a result of having obtained a conditional license may be denied the right to transfer from that position until such time as the conditions for a special education certification have been met. 4. Employees seeking transfer into a school building identified by the Iowa Department of Education or the United States Department of Education as SINA or persistently low achieving may be required by the superintendent or designee to participate in district provided professional development or training relevant to the position. E. INVOLUNTARY TRANSFER PROCEDURE: An employer initiated transfer. 1. Changes in teaching assignment or building assignment may be made upon the initiative of the employer. Prior to involuntary transferring an employee, the Employer will consider filling such positions with a qualified volunteer. In the absence of a qualified volunteer, an involuntary transfer decision will be made by the employer. In person notification to employee(s) will be made within Five (5) working days prior to the effective date of transfer.

5 5 2. Any employee having been notified that he/she is being involuntarily transferred may bid at any time for posted vacant positions. 3. In the event that a vacant position is not filled through the bid/voluntary transfer procedures and the Employer determines that the position will be filled through involuntary transfer, the least senior certified employee will be involuntarily transferred. 4. No Employee shall be transferred involuntarily without good cause and definite reason and the Board, or their administrative representatives, shall show cause and state reasons in writing for the involuntary transfer. 5. In the event an involuntary transfer becomes a matter of grievance, such employee transfer shall take effect until the grievance is resolved. F. EXPANSION OF PART-TIME POSITIONS When a part-time position is expanded to full time mid-year, the part time employee will be expanded to full time for the remainder of that school year. The position will then be posted for the next school year. G. BUILDING CLOSURE In the event a school closes, the staff reduction shall occur before assignments are made or transfers become effective.

6 6 PROCEDURE FOR STAFF REDUCTION It shall be the sole, exclusive right of the Employer to determine when staff reduction procedures must be implemented. When implemented, the following procedures shall apply: A. TERMINATIONS 1. When one or more teaching positions are to be eliminated, the first effort shall be to utilize normal attrition factors to avoid the termination process. 2. Should positions still need to be eliminated, teachers in the reduction category with emergency or temporary certification should be terminated. 3. When the Employer determines that it is necessary to reduce staff, the reduction shall be accomplished according to District-wide seniority in the classifications set forth in Section B of this procedure. The Employer may override seniority considerations when the qualifications of a junior employee better suit the needs of the school district. For the purpose of this procedure, qualifications shall include professional preparation, performance evaluations, experience in a particular grade or subject and other pertinent criteria demonstrating skill, ability, and competence. For the purposes of this article, the needs of the school district shall include particular programs, classes or activities and affirmative action. The Employer shall have the burden of proof for any deviation from the seniority standard. 4. If an Employee is licensed, endorsed, and/or approved in one or more seniority classifications and has had at least two years successful teaching experience on a more than half-time basis in another seniority classification or has completed at least four years teaching on a more than half time basis in the District, that Employee will be placed in the additional seniority classification. 5. In order to be placed in an additional seniority classification as set forth in Section B below, the teacher must be fully licensed and endorsed. 6. An employee selected for staff reduction may displace the least senior Employee in another classification for which he or she meets the criteria in Section A.4. If the Employee chooses to exercise this right, the Employee must notify the Superintendent or his designee in writing of such intention within two (2) school days of notification of reduction. 7. Any employee displaced through Section A.6 shall have the same rights of displacement as the originally reduced employee.

7 7 B. CLASSIFICATIONS For the purposes of this Procedure, Employees shall be grouped within the following classifications according to their current teaching assignment. 1. Elementary classroom teachers, Grades K through Middle School teachers, Grades 6 through 8, within each of the following areas: A. Business Education E. Project Lead the Way B. FCS F. Science C. Language Arts G. Social Studies D. Mathematics 3. High School teachers, Grades 9 through 12, within each of the following areas: A. Business Education F. Mathematics B. FCS G. Project Lead the Way C. Foreign Language H. Science D. Industrial Education I. Social Studies E. Language Arts J. Vocational Work Experience 4. District-wide areas: A. Art B. At-Risk C. Counselors D. ELL E. Home School F. Instrumental Music G. Media Specialists H. Nurses I. Physical Education J. PK K. Special Education L. TAG M. Title I N. Vocal Music C. RECALL Any Employee laid off pursuant to this Article shall have recall rights to any position for which he/she is or may become certified through the Twenty-Sixth (26 th ) month from the effective date of his/her lay-off. Said Employee shall be recalled to available positions in inverse order of lay-off. The effective date of lay-off shall be August 20 following the close of the last in-school year for which the Employee was employed. Upon recall, the Employee shall be placed on the step in the salary schedule at which he/she would have been placed for the in-school year immediately following the effective date of layoff and then granted any additional advancement for teaching experience in another school obtained during the lay-off and for college credits earned during the period of layoff.

8 8 D. NOTIFICATION OF RECALL Whenever an Employee shall have the right to recall, the Employer shall notify the Employee of the right to recall and the position to which he/she is being recalled by certified mail, addressed to the Employee s address on file in the office of the Superintendent. An Employee s failure to respond affirmatively by certified mail within Five (5) calendar days after receipt of such letter shall result in the termination of the Employee s right of recall hereafter.