Personnel Stuff for the Coming Season (Winter 2005)
Aside from all of the other stuff you have to deal with this winter/spring, you will be facing gobs of personnel issues, from the superintendent on down. Let’s take a look at that, including the mostly-consolidation-related problem of (creepy organ music here) reduction-in-force (RIF).

First, I don’t know when you will be reading this. James Gilson, the Reporter editor/writer/nag-for-people-who-don’t-get-their columns-written-on-time-guy, is trying to get this issue out, despite my best efforts. So, the superintendent stuff might be irrelevant for this year by the time you read this. Save it in your wallet or purse for next January.

Most schools deal with their superintendent’s contract in January. There’s nothing in the law that requires this, although some schools have a policy that requires that it be “considered,” or some such, in January. Regardless, it’s sort of traditional in Arkansas to deal with it then. You may do so, but you don’t have to. If you are concerned about your CEO’s performance, put it off until you have a better idea of how he will perform after you have told him what the concerns are. That gives him—and you—more time to see what can be done to correct any deficiencies.

Of course, if his contract will expire in June, your superintendent will be looking for a new job if he doesn’t have the security of a contract extension. If he has another year or two on his contract, the insecurity won’t be as acute. Use your best judgment here. However, if your policies require that the board consider the superintendent’s contract in January, at least put something in the minutes, such as tabling consideration for later, so that the policy provision will have been observed.

As we’ve mentioned before, the board does not have to renew teachers’ or full-time non-certified employees’ contracts. That’s done automatically, by operation of law. The exceptions are probationary (that is, first-year) non-certified folks and part-time non-certified (that is, non-certified employees who work less than 20 hours per week). Regardless, most of your employees want that vote to renew their contracts, just to make them feel more secure and to let them know that they’ll have a job to pay for that new car they just bought. It doesn’t hurt anything.

HOWEVER, be sure that, if you have some problems with one of your employees, that you DO NOT vote not to renew his contract. You can’t do that; and, if the superintendent wants to recommend dismissal, wait for him to do that. If he wants to consider non-renewal of an employee’s contract after the meeting where employees are renewed, he can leave that person off of the list for renewal. Never, ever, vote not to renew an employee’s contract without all of the procedural niceties having been observed; and, if you don’t have a formal recommendation before you, you don’t have the power to dismiss an employee. If you vote not to renew anyway, you’re making it much more difficult to dismiss that employee at some later time.

O. . . kay. Now for RIFs:

RIFs are procedurally no different than any other non-renewal. The superintendent and the board have to go through the steps set out in the applicable law and your policies (if any). The only difference is that, in a RIF, the reason for the proposed dismissal has nothing to do with the employee’s performance. Instead, the dismissal is based on the fact that, for whatever reason, you have too many employees for too few jobs.

For heaven’s sake, do not vote to eliminate positions before you have dismissed the employee through the RIF. That is, don’t let your superintendent or principal recommend that a position be eliminated if the employee in that position has not gone through the dismissal process. If the position is eliminated before the employee has a chance for a hearing, there won’t be much to talk about when he does get his hearing: his job will be gone already. Makes for a tough argument that you’re giving the guy a fair and impartial hearing. You owe him that.

When you’re having a nonrenewal hearing on a RIF, the basis for the recommendation from your superintendent has to be “just and reasonable,” just as it does for a dismissal recommendation based on the employee’s performance. In most cases, the superintendent will set the criteria for his recommendations, unless your policies set those out for him. Be sure to apply those criteria in making your decision. And, for our superintendents, if you have (documented) reasons for dismissal other than simply a RIF, include those in the notice letter to the employee. He’s entitled to notice of all of the reasons for his proposed dismissal, and he’s entitled to an opportunity for a hearing on them, too.

Depending on how many RIFs you have to consider, you could be looking at a lot of hearings. Sometimes, employees with similar reasons for their proposed dismissals will agree to combine their hearings, and that saves just about everyone time. If that’s done, however, you still must consider each employee individually.

Remember: the non-renewal notice deadline for teachers (a term which includes all certified employees, except for superintendents and assistant superintendents) is May 1. For non-certified employees, the notice deadline is 30 days before the next contract would start, whenever that is.

That’s about it for this time. Except that Mary Margaret—helpful pooch that she is—wants to pass this along: whenever you are going into the house, give yourself a good, hard “water shake.” That way, a lot of your fur that would be shed in the house is left outside, causing the fur balls in the corners of the kitchen to take longer to form. That makes your mommie happy.

That’s good advice for anyone.

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Next Article (Summer 2005)-Child Abuse Investigators: "Let 'em in."

Related Links:
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Past Issues of The Reporter
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Arkansas Study Circles Project
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Related Downloads (pdf):
ASBA Handbook for Arkansas School Board Members