17. Vacancies, Transfers, and Promotion
17.1: Promotional Positions
17.2: Voluntary Transfers: Non-Promotional and Bargaining Unit Transfers
17.3: Involuntary Transfers: Surplus and Displaced Teachers
17.4: Contract-Fulfilled Teachers
17.1 PROMOTIONAL POSITIONS
Definition
“Promotional positions” are considered to be newly created or vacated positions not in the bargaining unit which are administrative or supervisory in nature.
B. Posting
1. All promotional positions becoming available for the following year shall be posted in all school buildings on the office and faculty bulletin boards and on the District’s website for a minimum of seven working days. Such notice shall be accompanied by a job description, a statement of minimum qualifications, and salary range.
2. During summer vacations all vacancies shall be posted the first of each week on bulletin boards in the following locations: high schools, middle schools, and administrative offices, and also on the District’s web site.
3. Copies of all vacancy notices and announcements will be sent to the office of the President of the Association.
C. Restrictions
1. None of the above vacancies shall be permanently filled until District staff member candidates are given the opportunity to apply according to the above procedures.
2. Positions temporarily filled by the Board for the duration of a year will follow the above procedures before being permanently filled.
3. Applications shall be submitted to the Office of Human Resources for a specific position, or if no specific position is open, an applicant may indicate the type and kind of position desired.
[top]
17.2 NON – PROMOTIONAL AND BARGAINING UNIT TRANSFERS – VOLUNTARY
A. Definition
1. “Non-promotional and bargaining unit transfer positions” are considered to be newly created or vacated positions within the bargaining unit which are not administrative or supervisory.
2. A “vacancy” occurs whenever a new position or an additional position within a department or grade level is created, or when an already existing position is vacated and cannot be filled from staff within that building or from a district pool of surplus teachers in that order. An exception would be made for a teacher returning from a leave of absence to the vacated position.
B. Restrictions
1. None of the above vacancies shall be permanently filled until the District staff member candidates are given the opportunity to apply according to the procedures below.
2. Positions temporarily filled by the Board for the duration of a year will follow the procedures below before being permanently filled.
C. Procedures
1. Vacant bargaining unit positions shall be listed on the district web site for four working days following the posting date for any qualified person from within the district to apply. The positions will also be posted concurrently as open positions on the district website for external candidates.
The voluntary transfer process begins each year upon a mutually agreed date. The voluntary transfer procedure shall not be applied following the second Friday in May of each school year.
Teachers interested in applying for a position must apply electronically via the district web site to the Office of Human Resources. Each applicant will receive a confirmation from the Office of Human Resources that an application has been received.
2. As a minimum, the three most senior teachers on each posted position list shall be given the opportunity to interview.
All those interviewed shall be notified within seven days of the selection if they did not receive the position. If an applicant, following the interview, is not selected for transfer to a position sought, he/she may contact the administrator with whom he/she interviewed, and a conference will be held upon request of the teacher. At this conference the reasons for the selection of another candidate shall be given.
3. An applicant who declines an interview for a specific position will still be eligible to be interviewed for other vacancies. An applicant who declines the offer of a voluntary transfer will not be considered for other vacancies which occur prior to the start of the succeeding school year.
4. A teacher who accepts a voluntary transfer shall not be eligible to submit another voluntary transfer request for the next school year.
D. Applying for New Positions after the Voluntary Transfer Process
After the voluntary transfer process, all new positions will continue to be listed on the district web site through third Friday in July. Teachers may apply for positions after the second Friday in May through third Friday in July..
[top]
17.3 INVOLUNTARY TRANSFERS: SURPLUS AND DISPLACED TEACHERS
Definitions
Surplus Staff
Surplus staff is defined as all staff member(s) (including those on leave of absence) surplus to departmental (middle and high) or building needs (elementary) based on authorized positions for the following school year. Identification of staff surplus to building and needs shall be:
a. Voluntary Transfer – When it is necessary to involuntarily transfer or reassign teachers from a school, to the extent possible, all volunteers shall be considered first.
b. Involuntary Transfer
(1) Identification to be done on the basis of least seniority among those within the specific department within building (middle and high) or among the staff within the building (elementary).
Minority staff members may be identified for transfer only if such does not negatively affect the racial composition of the staff among the buildings involved.
An effort will be made to allow traveling instructional staff to remain at some or all of their current building assignments.
2. Displaced Staff
Displaced staff is defined as those persons whose positions/programs have been eliminated for the following school year.
B. Procedures
1. Notification
A comprehensive list of surplus/displaced teachers shall be prepared, and such those teachers shall be notified of their status in writing by the Human Resources Office no later than the end of the second week of April. Simultaneously, a list of all known available positions categorized as regular education and special education positions will be provided. Surplus/displaced teachers from regular education positions shall select a position from the regular education vacancies; surplus/displaced teachers from special education positions shall select a position from the special education vacancies. Teachers whose names appear on the surplus/displaced list shall have an opportunity to indicate preference of available positions to which they may be transferred.
a. The District shall contact the displaced teacher for each new clean vacancy in order of seniority. If the teacher does not respond to the telephone call within 24 hours of the original placed call the District will continue the process with the next most senior teacher.
b. A displaced teacher may select the “pool” in favor of accepting a vacant position.
c. The process of placing displaced teachers by seniority selection will continue through the last day of school.
d. After the last day of school any teacher who remains in the “pool” will be placed in a position by the Director of Human Resources.
e. In the case of summer displacements, a reasonable period of time will be granted by the district to allow employees to select new assignments before being assigned.
2. Rights to Position
Surplus/Displaced teachers have a right to a position in their former department and building (middle/high), former building at the same or adjacent grade level
elementary), or former position in a reinstated program if such becomes vacant/available by the Friday following Labor Day.
Surplus/Displaced teachers shall have the right to return to the building and department (middle and high) or building and same or adjacent grade (elementary) from which they transferred if the vacancy exists during the first semester (for which placement would occur at the beginning of the second semester) or for the following school year. Elementary teachers teaching two grades and middle and high school teachers teaching two periods of two different fields may elect either grade or area. If the surplus/displaced staff member declines such a position between semesters, this position shall be available to the teacher for the beginning of the next school year.
3. Volunteers
When it is necessary to involuntarily transfer or reassign teachers in a school, to the extent possible, all volunteers shall first be considered.
4. Staff Assignment
Where an adequate number of volunteers is not obtainable, and provided transfers do not create an imbalance in the racial composition of the staff, such transfers shall be made on the basis of district seniority. It is understood by both the Board and the Association that such relocation of staff will most often need to be done on a building level or a department level. When such is the case, all transfers will still be made on the basis of district seniority (as defined in 10.1A), but within that specific building or department. For the purposes of this Article, any involuntary transfer made within an elementary building shall be done on the basis of the greatest district seniority within that building.
5. District Seniority
Teachers shall be assigned to positions based on their requests in order of district seniority. If two or more teachers request the same position, the teacher with the most district seniority shall be assigned.
6. Equal District Seniority
In the event district seniority is equal, the procedures defined in Article 10.1F are to be utilized.
7. Written Notices of Transfer
Written notices of transfer will be given to the teacher concerned as soon as practicable or no later than as stated in 17.3B.8. The following exceptions will be observed:
a. In individual cases, where a teacher is the only teacher who is certified and/qualified to teach an existing program.
In the initial staffing of any new attendance center, provided all volunteers shall first be considered.
c. In consultation with the Association, where a teacher has been shown to be incompatible with the educational process within a building or department, and when that teacher has failed to respond to specific suggestions for improvement noted in the teacher’s evaluation and has been given time for remediation.
d. This article will not take precedence over any court order or award enforced by a court of competent jurisdiction, which by its express terms and conditions specifies transfer or reassignment of faculty based on factors other than those guaranteed above.
8. Change in Assignment
a. When a change in building, grade level, and/or subject assignment for an elementary teacher is anticipated, proper written notification shall be given by the Office of Human Resources or the building principal, as appropriate, prior to the start of the voluntary transfer process. A collaborative process will be used to discuss any vacancy to determine whether there are any volunteers for the principal to consider.
b. When a change in building, grade level, and/or subject assignment for a middle or high school teacher is anticipated, proper written notification shall be given by the Office of Human Resources or the building principal, as appropriate, prior to the last day of school. The Department Chairs will survey department members for interest in teaching assignments for the following year, which shall be communicated to the principal. The principal will collaboratively meet with each department chair to discuss the development of the schedule.
c. No changes in the teacher’s assignment may be made later than the last day of school for balanced calendar schools and June 30th for all other schools unless it is by teacher request or such a change is necessitated by exigencies of the District. Changes to a teacher’s assignment made later than the last day of school require a written notification describing the reasons for such change.
d. Changes to a teacher’s schedule after the third Friday in August may only be completed when an exigency exists. The exigency will be explained to the affected teacher and union representation.
e. Upon request, any teacher affected by an involuntary transfer shall either be released from his/her contract or be granted a leave of absence not to exceed one year.
f. Elementary K-5 – Tentative Class (grade -level) assignment for the following year will be communicated before the voluntary transfer process. A collaborative process will be used to discuss any vacancy to determine whether there are any volunteers for the principal to consider.
g. Middle and High School – The Department Chairs will survey department members for interest in teaching assignments for the following year, which shall be communicated to the principal. The principal will collaboratively meet with each department chair to discuss the development of the schedule.
9. Master Vacancy List
Within two weeks of SEA’s request, the Office of Human Resources will provide SEA with a list of vacancies to post on the SEA website. This master vacancy list shall indicate building, department and grade level.
10. Position Selection Process
SEA will organize and implement the process that enables involuntarily transferred teachers to select a position from the master vacancy list.
SEA will contact teachers by phone on a designated date.
Teachers will select positions from the master vacancy list based on seniority and certification requirements.
c. SEA will provide the Human Resources Office a letter indicating the position selected by each teacher on the surplus/displaced list.
11. School Visitation Requirements
Prior to selection of any position from the master vacancy list, the teacher shall visit the site(s) or have a phone conference with the principal of the building in which he/she is interested. Said visit shall include interaction with the building administrator and appropriate staff to become familiar with the school’s programs and expectations. This section does not apply to pool applicants during the summer months when school is not in session.
12. Federally Funded Programs
Teachers members currently assigned to government programs (i.e. Title I, Class Size Reduction, WCLIP, 94-142, etc.) will be maintained in those programs assuming such programs will be refunded. Transfer requests from these to non-governmental programs will be considered under the voluntary transfer procedures. In the event any of these governmental programs are not refunded, assigned staff members will be considered under the involuntary transfer procedure.
13. The Singleton Rule
After the transfer procedures have been implemented, comparisons of minority/majority staff ratios between buildings will be determined within each organizational level. If a building’s ratio is significantly different from that of other buildings within the same organizational level, minority and majority staff will be exchanged to assure compliance with the Singleton Rule. If such change is necessary and no minority staff member requests to be exchanged, the least senior minority staff member will be transferred. In these instances where the exchange of minority staff member(s) and majority staff member(s) is required and where no majority staff member in the same department or grade level as the transferred minority staff member requests to be transferred, the least senior majority staff member in the corresponding department or grade level will be transferred.
14. Order of Placement
a. displaced and surplus teachers
b. voluntary transfers
c. recall for RIFd teachers
d. contract-fulfilled teachers
e. new hires
[top]
17.4 CONTRACT-FULFILLED TEACHERS
Contract fulfilled teachers shall be defined as those teachers who are hired on or after August 1st of a given school year for that year. The district shall be under no obligation to rehire teachers hired on or after August 2nd and those teachers shall not be subject to the order of placement outline in 17.3.14. Teachers hired on or after August 2nd who receive a proficient or excellent evaluation rating will be included on a list of possible candidates for interview sent to principals in buildings which have opening for which the teacher is qualified.
A. All contract-fulfilled teachers are obligated to inform the Office of Human Resources of current directory information, including applicable mailing address, e-mail, and all telephone (cell, home, emergency) numbers, in order to be contacted for re-employment opportunities. Failure to provide up-to-date contact information by a contract-fulfilled teacher will result in that teacher losing his/her rights to a position under 17.3B14 of the Agreement.
B. The District is only obligated to make three documented attempts to contact a contract-fulfilled teacher over a five-business-day period for an interview or a job offer for a specific vacancy of interest indicated by the contract-fulfilled teacher.
C. Effective August 1 of each year, if a contract-fulfilled teacher declines an interview or a job offer for a position for which he/she is qualified, the District no longer has re-employment obligations under 17.3B14 prior to the start of the school year.
D. A contract-fulfilled teacher who loses rights to re-employment under 17.3B14 of the Agreement may still be eligible for re-hire, but the District is no longer obligated to re-hire him/her before the selection of a new hire prior to the start of the school year.
< A16: Discipline or Dismissal
A18: Job Share/Exchange (Teacher & ESP) >