PERSONNEL SERVICES Regulation 4440

Transcription

1 PERSONNEL SERVICES Regulation 4440 Professional Activities, Training and Professional Growth Community Teachers Association (DCTA) Guiding Principles Build on present practice. Effective teacher administrator Board relationships should be developed by utilizing and improving any procedures of communication, which in the current practice of the school system, are useful in developing school policy on matters of common concern. Service to children and youth paramount. The Teachers Association must seek professional goals such as teacher excellence and professional ethics as well as good personnel practices. Involvement of teachers. The legal responsibility for the adoption of school policies belongs to the Board exclusively. However, before arriving at a decision with respect to important policies which affect the work of teachers, the Board should make sure that teachers have participated cooperatively in the preparation of the recommendation that it will have under consideration. In the event the Board feels the recommendation to be unwise, it will engage in good faith discussions with representatives of the teachers before taking action on the recommendation. Policies in writing. A cooperatively developed written school board policy is fundamental to good Board staff relationship. Written policies shall be revised regularly, shall be made available to the school staff and shall continue to be used by the Board as the basis for its action. Role of Superintendent. The role of the Superintendent of Schools is of utmost importance because he/she must function both as the chief administrator for the Board and as head of the professional staff. With this dual role goes the responsibility for leadership. The Superintendent s leadership should result in mutual respect between the Board and the professional staff. It should result also in steps by which differences can be resolved. Scope. Only matters of broad professional concern are within the scope of cooperative planning as used in the context of this statement. Although the proper handling of personal grievances of teachers is of utmost importance to the maintenance of staff morale, such grievances are not within the scope of such professional planning unless they have been evaluated by a responsible committee of the Teachers Association and found to be of such broad significance that the Association by official action decides to make common cause with the teacher in question.

2 Page 2 Open Communication 1. The Board of Education is the sole legal authority for establishing policies in the School District. It has been and continues to be the policy of the Board of Education to establish and maintain channels for the discussion of matters of common concern with representatives from that certificated professional organization which represents the largest number of teachers in membership. a. All certificated associations shall submit a notarized membership list to the secretary of the Board of Education by 4:00 p.m. on the first school day in November. Only actively employed members with their dues paid shall be included on this notarized list. Administrative personnel shall not be counted in this total. b. At the first regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education in November, the Superintendent shall certify to the Board the certificated organization with the largest membership. These professional channels of communication shall remain in existence for a twelve month period. c. This does not preclude the right of other groups or individuals to be heard by the Board. 2. Responsibility of the Teachers Association: The Teachers Association should have a well informed, responsible membership. It should have competent research committees to compile evidence as the basis for whatever the Association presents as the needs and desires of the teachers. The Association has a duty to educate its own membership with respect to those realities of school system operation with which their proposals are related. The Teachers Association shall file a copy of its current constitution and bylaws with the Board and shall also file promptly any subsequent changes. 3. Request for Conferences: When the Teachers Association wishes to discuss a matter or make a proposal, it shall make its request for a conference to the Superintendent or his/her representative. Accompanying the request for a conference will be a written statement setting forth the nature of the concern of the professional staff. Such a request shall result in discussion between the Superintendent and representatives of the Teachers Association within a reasonable length of time. It is probable that in nearly all such conferences, there will be a meeting of the minds, resulting in a recommendation to the Board of the Superintendent with the full support of the Teachers Association. Requests for conference may move in the opposite direction. Whenever the Superintendent or the Board desires to discuss a matter of importance with the Teachers Association, a request for a conference shall be directed to the president of the Teachers Association. Accompanying such a request should be a written statement setting forth the

3 Page 3 concern of the Superintendent and/or Board. Such a request should result in a conference within a reasonable period of time between a committee representing the local Teachers Association and Superintendent. In those rare cases in which there can be no meeting of the minds, the Teachers Association may request and the Superintendent shall arrange a conference with the Board. 4. Conferences: Facts, opinions and proposals shall be exchanged freely during the conferences in an effort to reach mutual understanding. Participants in these conferences may wish to utilize the services of consultants. 5. Policy: When the participants reach an understanding, such understanding shall become a recommendation for policy action by the Board. 6. Consultant Service: When the Board and representatives of the Association experience difficulty in arriving at a solution on matters of great importance, well qualified consultants should be called in by both parties jointly to review the situation and make recommendations. The procedure for securing such consultants should be set forth in the overall policy statement. After reviewing the recommendations of the consultants, the legal responsibility for making a final decision rests with the Board. POLICY MODIFICATION ARTICLE 1 PREAMBLE AND PURPOSE Whereas, it is mutual objective of the Board of Education and the Community Teachers Association to provide the best education possible within the limits of available resources for the students of the public schools of the District, and, Whereas, it is desirable to work toward understanding, cooperation and shared responsibility between the Board of Education and professional staff of the District, and, Whereas, the guarantee of the free and open exchange of views is necessary to ensure the efficient, uninterrupted and strife free operation of the public schools of the District,

4 Page 4 SECTION 4 Now, therefore, the Board of Education and the Community Teachers Association hereby agree that the following articles represent the full and complete understanding and commitment between the parties. ARTICLE II DEFINITIONS The term DCTA shall mean the Community Teachers Association, provided that the DCTA continues to represent through its membership a majority of the certificated personnel. No other teachers organization shall be considered to have any legal or contractual status arising out of this agreement. The term teams shall mean the representatives of the Board of Education and the DCTA. The phrase in good faith shall mean the fair and honest exchange of proposals and counterproposals in an atmosphere of mutual respect and equality between the Board of Education or its representatives and the DCTA. It does not commit either team to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession. It does require giving its explanations for the rejection of a proposal and/or the offering of counter proposals. ARTICLE III BOARD RIGHTS AND DUTIES The Board of Education retains and reserves unto itself all powers, rights, authority, duties and responsibilities conferred upon and vested in it by the statutes of the State of Missouri, except as specifically delegated elsewhere in this agreement. ARTICLE IV TEACHER RECOGNITION Nothing in this agreement shall be construed as to preclude the appearance of any teacher on his/her behalf before the Board of Education in accordance with established policy for such an appearance, or to preclude the adjustment of any problem with regard to such teacher in a manner agreeable with both parties.

5 Page 5 ARTICLE V PROCEDURE Upon reasonable written request, the Board of Education and the DCTA shall exchange information which will assist in developing proposals for the improvement of the delivery of educational services to the students of the District, including proposals for the improvement of salary and working conditions of all staff. Such requests for information shall be directed to the Office of the Superintendent or to the president of the DCTA. Such requests shall not obligate either party to assume the costs of assembling material or information. Salary and welfare discussions will begin no later than January 15 of each year. Both teams will agree to an ending date for the discussions and other time lines at the first meeting. In determining items in the area of salary, working conditions and fringe benefits, representatives of the Board of Education and the DCTA will abide by the procedures agreed to by both teams. The teams are to make proposals, to discuss and consider proposals in good faith and to make every effort to resolve matters to their mutual satisfaction and agreement. Whenever possible, both teams should present data that will support each proposal presented for discussion. SECTION 4 All tentative items considered and agreed upon between the parties shall be set down in writing. These tentative items shall constitute a memorandum of understanding. Representatives of the Board and DCTA shall then submit this memorandum of understanding to the Board of Education and the membership of the DCTA for adoption. If subsequently approved by the Board of Education and the DCTA, it shall be adopted and recorded in the official minutes of the Board of Education. ARTICLE VI IMPASSE PROCEDURE If either the Board of Education or the DCTA fails to adopt the memorandum of understanding, then an impasse shall be declared. If the teams fail to resolve the impasse despite all

6 Page 6 diligent efforts made in good faith by the deadline date agreed upon, then the following procedures shall be involved. Within five (5) calendar days of the deadline, representatives of the Board of Education and the DCTA shall each select one (1) representative to form a Fact Finding Committee. The two (2) selected representatives shall then choose a third representative. This representative shall be chosen from the educational community and shall be familiar with items of school finance. The expenses of the Fact Finding Committee will be jointly shared by the Board of Education and the DCTA. The Fact Finding Committee shall have fourteen (14) calendar days to make recommendations to the Board of Education and the DCTA. The report of the Fact Finding Committee will be presented to the Board of Education at its next regularly scheduled public meeting. ARTICLE VII LEGAL STATUS If any article, section, clause or provision of this document be in conflict with the Constitution or laws of the United State of America or with the Constitution or laws of the State of Missouri or with the rules and regulations of any duly constituted regulatory agency of the United States of America or the State of Missouri or with any decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, then that article, section, clause, or provision shall be null and void; but all remaining articles, sections, clauses and provisions shall remain in full force and effect until modified under the provisions of the Board of Education and the DCTA.