FILE: GBKA
REDUCTION IN FORCE
CERTIFIED PERSONNEL
The Board, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, hereby retains the sole and exclusive prerogative to eliminate certified staff positions consistent with the provisions of state statutes and this policy. Elimination of certified staff may result from the following reasons: decrease in student enrollment, decline in subject or grade level enrollment, changes in curriculum, financial exigency, consolidation or reorganization of schools. Reduction in force shall be non-punitive and non-discriminatory.
Definitions:
The term "days" shall not include Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
The term "teachers" is defined by state statutes.
The term "seniority" shall be determined by date of Board approval for employment.
Prior to commencing action to terminate teacher contracts under this procedure, the Board will attempt to affect the reduction in staff by:
Voluntary retirements
Voluntary resignations
Voluntary leaves of absence
Voluntary transfers
Administration initiated transfer of existing staff members
If a teacher has attained tenured status, his/her contract may be terminated due to elimination of the position to which the teacher was appointed if no other position exists to which the employee may be appointed, if certified and qualified. No tenured teacher shall be terminated when a position exists which is either vacant or occupied by a non-tenured teacher and for which the tenured teacher is qualified and certified or immediately certifiable.
The Board shall make staff reduction decisions among non-tenured teachers where the best interests of the school system will be served.
In making staff reduction decisions affecting tenured teachers, the Board will consider all relevant criteria, but will place major emphasis upon the following:
Qualification to teach particular subjects, as determined by certification, teaching experience and educational background.
Years of teaching service in the school system and teaching performance based upon the most recent performance evaluation.
Total length of service in education.
No provision of this policy shall prevent the Board from fulfilling the desegregation requirements as set forth by court orders and/or legislation.
Recall provisions apply only to tenured teachers. The name of a tenured teacher who has been terminated shall be placed on a recall list for one year. Any teacher desiring to be placed on the recall list for an additional year should apply in writing by registered mail on or before July 1. Any teacher who for any reason wishes to be removed from the recall list should notify the Superintendent by letter. The recall list will be posted on a Central Office bulletin board.
No one shall be employed to fill a position for which an employee on the recall list is qualified and certified or immediately certifiable. In cases where more than one such employee is available, he/she shall be given preference according to provisions of this policy.
Any teacher on the recall list shall receive by registered letter (RRR) a written offer of reappointment at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of reemployment. The teacher shall accept or reject the appointment in writing by registered letter (RRR) within one calendar week of receipt of the offer, or the offer shall be deemed rejected. A teacher may refuse to accept an offered assignment and remain on the recall list.
No employee who has been terminated shall be entitled to payment or accrual of compensation or fringe benefits, whether or not he/she remains on the recall list. However, an employee who is reappointed shall be entitled to reinstatement of any benefits earned or accrued at the time of termination, and further accrual of salary increments and fringe benefits shall resume from the point of cessation. No years of layoff will be credited as years of service for compensation or retirement purposes.
It is understood that termination of employment is subject to administrative and/or judicial review in the manner set forth in the relevant statutes.
SUPPORT PERSONNEL
With respect to non-probationary support employees, a determination by the Board that a Reduction in Force (RIF) is necessary pursuant to this policy constitutes the necessary cause for dismissal required by the Fair Dismissal Act. Subject to any applicable statutory and constitutional limitations, including procedural protections of the Fair Dismissal Act, the Board has the authority to terminate employees to achieve the necessary reduction in staff.
The following procedure shall be used to implement a reduction in force:
The Superintendent shall recommend in writing to the Board the positions or job classifications to be dismissed. In making this recommendation, the Superintendent is bound to consider all of the factors set out in this policy. The superintendent shall confine his/her recommendation for employee reduction to employees assigned to the affected positions or job classifications.
The Board, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, shall determine the positions or job classifications to be affected and particular employees to be dismissed.
To the extent possible the reduction shall be accomplished through attrition.
If reductions beyond those achieved by attrition are necessary, length of service with the Board shall govern. Probationary employees will be the first terminated and will have no right to recall. A non-probationary employee will be terminated only after all probationary employees in the designated position or job classification have been laid off and the employee has refused to accept another position, then held by a probationary employee for which the non-probationary employee is qualified. If it is necessary to include non-probationary employees in the Reduction in Force, non-probationary employees having the least length of service will be the first laid off. In the event two or more employees have the same length of service, the Board will then consider the performance, ability and skill of the employees.
Any non-probationary employee terminated pursuant to this policy shall have recall rights to the position from which he/she was terminated for one (1) calendar year from the effective date of his/her termination in reverse order of dismissal. If a former employee refuses an offer of employment pursuant to this policy, his/her rights of recall are forfeited.
Nothing in this policy shall be deemed to create a property interest in continued employment or to create an expectation of further or continued employment beyond that provided by, where applicable, the Alabama Fair Dismissal Act.
Definitions used in this policy are as follows:
"Employee" as used in this policy is defined in the exact manner as the term is defined in the Fair Dismissal Act.
"Probationary employee" is defined as that term defined in the Fair Dismissal Act and as construed by applicable case law.
"Length of service" means the length of the most recent, uninterrupted period of continuous employment with the Board. Continuous employment will not be considered interrupted by holidays, vacation periods, summer recesses or approved leaves of absence: however, in computing length of service, the period of any approved leave of absence shall not be counted as part of the total continuous employment.
"Reduction in Force" or "RIF" means the dismissal of one or more employees for reasons of financial exigency, serious natural disaster, justifiable decrease in jobs in the system or other good and just cause. Termination of a probationary employee pursuant to the Fair Dismissal Act is not a "Reduction in Force" as used in this policy. Nothing in this policy shall affect the rights of the Board to remove a probationary employee as contemplated by the Fair Dismissal Act or create procedural requirements for such removal beyond those set out in said act.
ADOPTED: August 13, 2002
LEGAL REF: Code of Alabama 16-1-30; 16-1-33; 16-24-8 to 16-24-10; 36-26-
100 to 108