Common use of Dismissal-Tenured Teacher Clause in Contracts

Dismissal-Tenured Teacher. The Principal may make a recommendation in writing to the Trustees of the District for termination of the services of a tenured teacher. Such a recommendation for dismissal must state clearly and explicitly the specific reason or reasons leading to the recommendation for dismissal. When the Trustees receive such a recommendation for dismissal, they shall, before June 1 of the current school year, notify the teacher of the recommendation for termination and of the teacher’s right to a hearing on that recommendation. The notification must be delivered by certified letter or by personal notification for which a signed receipt is returned. The notification must include: a) the statement of the reason(s) that lead to the recommendation for termination; and b) a printed copy of the appropriate section of the Termination of the Tenured Teacher Services Statue. The teacher may, in writing, waive the right to a hearing. Unless the teacher waives the right to a hearing, the Trustees shall set a hearing date giving consideration to the convenience of the teacher, not less than (10) ten days or more than (20) twenty days from the receipt of the notice of recommendation for termination. The Trustees shall conduct a hearing on the recommendation at the regularly scheduled or special meeting of the Board of Trustees in accordance with public participation statues and resolve at the conclusion of this hearing to terminate the teacher or to reject the recommendation for termination. A tenured teacher shall appeal a decision to terminate an employment contract to an arbitrator agreed upon by the district and the teacher's exclusive representative. A request for arbitration must be made within 20 days from the date of termination unless an alternative time period is provided by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. The teacher or his/her representative the district may request that the board of personnel appeals provide a list of seven arbitrators from which the teacher or his/her representative and the district shall, after the toss of a coin to determine the order of striking, alternately strike names from the list until one arbitrator is selected and appointed. By mutual agreement between the parties, the county superintendent of schools may be appointed as the arbitrator. The decision of the arbitrator is final and binding. Each party shall pay one-half of an arbitrator's charges unless a different cost allocation arrangement is agreed upon by the parties. An arbitrator may order a school district to reinstate a teacher who has been terminated without good cause and to provide compensation, with interest, to a teacher for lost wages and fringe benefits from the date of termination to the date that the teacher is offered reinstatement to the same or a comparable position. Interim earnings, including the amount that the teacher could have earned with reasonable diligence, must be deducted from the amount awarded for lost wages. Before interim earnings are deducted from lost wages, reasonable amounts spent by a teacher in searching for, obtaining, or relocating to new employment must be deducted from interim earnings. An arbitrator may not order a school district to provide compensation for punitive damages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, compensatory damages, attorney fees, or any other form of damages. Upon submission of the termination decision to an arbitrator, the teacher or the teacher's exclusive representative may not file an action against the district for reinstatement or compensation of lost wages and fringe benefits.