Long-Term Disability (Employee Paid Plans)
a) All permanent Teachers shall participate in the long term disability plan (LTD Plan) as a condition of employment, subject to the terms of the LTD plan.
b) The Board shall cooperate in the administration of the LTD Plan. It is understood that administration means that the Board will co-operate with the enrolment and deduction of premiums and provide available necessary data to the insurer, upon request. The Board will remit premiums collected to the carrier on behalf of the Teachers.
c) Where the plan administrator implements changes in the terms and conditions of the LTD Plan or the selection of an insurance carrier, the Board shall, for administrative purposes, be advised of changes at least thirty (30) days prior to the date the changes are to be implemented.
New Employee Orientation The Union will provide each agency personnel director with the names and addresses of up to two (2) authorized Union representatives per agency to receive notice of each formal orientation meeting held by the Department. The notice will be sent as soon as such meetings are scheduled (but not less than ten (10) days in advance) and will include date, time and location. Due to operational exigencies, agencies may schedule an orientation which will provide the Union with less than the requisite ten (10) days' notice; however the Union shall be notified as soon as possible after the scheduling of the orientation and the Union representative shall be released from duty. Agencies shall routinely schedule orientations in a manner that will allow for the ten (10) day advance notice to the Union. During the formal orientation, the Union will be permitted to give a twenty (20) minute presentation which may include an enrollment in supplemental Union benefits. The parties shall encourage employee attendance, although attendance shall not be mandatory if an employee objects to attending the presentation. In the event a formal orientation meeting is not held, or the Union is unable to attend the formal orientation because the designated Union representatives cannot be released under Article 4, the Employer shall allow the Union representative and the employee(s) to meet during duty hours at a mutually agreed upon time and location for twenty (20) minutes Employee participation in these meetings shall be encouraged although an employee shall not be required to attend such a meeting.
Summer Employment 5.10.1 Summer employment is defined as temporary employment of employees during their non-contract days between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next school year in classifications covered by this agreement.
5.10.2 All terms and conditions of this agreement shall be in force throughout any period of "summer employment" except for any deviations specifically addressed in thissection.
5.10.3 Employees who wish to be employed in summer employment must apply for a position(s) advertised on the district's employment website as temporary summer positions become available.
5.10.4 Employees shall be eligible for summer employment according to the employee's classification, district wide seniority, training, experience, and skills and the needs of the district.
Project Employment A. Permanent project employees have layoff rights. Options will be determined using the procedure outlined in Sections 35.9 and 35.10, above.
B. Permanent status employees who left regular classified positions to accept project employment without a break in service have layoff rights within the Employer in which they held permanent status to the job classification they held immediately prior to accepting project employment.
TEACHER EMPLOYMENT 8.1. The Board agrees to employ only those teachers who hold at least a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university and are certifiable by the New Hampshire State Department of Education. This provision shall not apply in the instance where the availability of personnel is critical and an appropriate waiver is granted by the New Hampshire State Department of Education.
8.2 Teachers shall not be assigned outside the scope of their teacher certification and major or minor field of study except temporarily and for good cause.
8.3 For purposes of this Agreement, the period of service shall not be more than one hundred eighty-nine (189) days, including a maximum of 180 teaching days. Non- teaching days will include at least the following: Pre-School Year Faculty Meetings 1 Parent-Teacher Conferences 2 Teacher In-Service 3 Teacher Planning Days 2 Professional Development Day 1 Total Contract Days 9 The agenda for the Teacher Planning Days will be set by the teaching staff in each building, and shall be used for teachers to plan curriculum and/or curriculum development only. The Teacher Planning Days will be scheduled either immediately prior to the first day of school, during the school year, and/or after the last day of school, but no later than June 30. The Professional Development Day shall be scheduled in the fall and devoted to any activity that furthers the individual teacher’s Professional Growth Plan. Parent- Teacher Conferences will be scheduled to accommodate and meet the needs of parents. Two (2) weeks notice will be given for make-up days. Teachers new to the District may be required to report one extra day.
8.4 Teachers employed by the District will be given an individual contract (See Appendix C-1 and C-2 attached hereto) each year of their employment. The contract will include teaching assignment, years of service, continuing contract status and annual salary. Continuing contract status will be issued according to NH RSA 189:14-a. The notice of employment shall require that teachers certify they hold a valid New Hampshire certificate, license, or permit to teach. The Board agrees to reimburse for half of the State mandated recertification fee. The individual contract shall be subject to and consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
8.5 The workday shall begin for those teachers who have assigned duties at a time consistent with the individual schedules of each building. Those teachers who do not have duties before the start of the school day shall be required to report twenty (20) minutes prior to the first scheduled homeroom or class in their building each day. The workday for teachers will end at such time as necessary to carry out their professional duties including, but not limited to, faculty meetings, conferences with parents or students, extra help, open house, or conferences with administrators as required. Such meetings shall be of reasonable duration with end of day faculty meetings being no more than one (1) hour. Otherwise, the teacher workday shall end ten (10) minutes after the last period or class in their building each day, except for those teachers who have assigned duties consistent with the individual schedule of each building. In-service activities or workshops that are required of teachers by administrators will be conducted during the time regular classes are scheduled. Nurses shall not be assigned duties, such as bus duty or recess duty, before, during or after the school day. School counselors may be excused from such duties with the approval of the building administration.
8.6 The Board will make every effort to provide a thirty (30) minute duty-free uninterrupted lunch period. In the event that a thirty minute lunch is not available for all teachers, a committee made up of three teachers appointed by the Association and three persons appointed by the Board shall study the situation and issue a report with recommendations as to how the thirty minute lunch period might be implemented for all teachers prior to the next annual District meeting. However, in no instance shall it be less than twenty (20) minutes. When a thirty (30) minute time period is not scheduled, teachers of self-contained classrooms will be provided a fifteen (15) minute relief period each day.
8.7 The administration will make every effort to provide at least 3.5 hours per week as preparation time for teachers in grades Pre-K – 8.
8.8 Teachers will be notified of their employment status and teaching assignments on or before April 15th, and will return their contract signed, no later than May 1st; however, a teacher’s request for extension of the May 1 deadline may be granted for extenuating circumstances at the Superintendent’s discretion. In the event a teacher rejects a reassignment, the teacher shall be employed to fill any open position which may then be available, provided the Superintendent recommends to the Board that the teacher is qualified and certifiable. A teacher's refusal to accept the reassignment, or any open position which then may be available shall constitute a termination of contract without prejudice. Any change in assignment after April 15th shall be considered an involuntary transfer and shall be effected only for cause.
8.9 When involuntary transfers are effected for a necessary reduction in a school's staff allocation due to reduced student enrollments or the closing and/or consolidation of a building, resignations or leaves of absence, said transfers will be made on the basis of years of service in the District; that teachers in the affected building possessing the least amount of service and applicable certification being transferred first. Such transfer due to resignation or leave of absence shall be for a period not to exceed one (1) year.
8.10 Teachers actively engaged in credited coursework and/or matriculated in degree programs, should give notice by November 1 of their intent to pursue a salary lane change in the following year. All paperwork and formal grade documentation must be filed with the Superintendent’s office by August 1 in order for the salary adjustment to take effect for the upcoming contract year. Time requirements specified in this section may be extended by mutual agreement.
8.11 The Board agrees to submit to the Association for its consideration, suggestions for the school calendar on or before January fifteenth (15th) of the preceding year. The Board reserves the right to establish the school calendar and to make appropriate changes at any time.
Disabled Employees If an employee becomes disabled with the result that he is unable to carry out the regular functions of his position, the Hospital may establish a special classification and salary with the hope of providing an opportunity of continued employment.
Outside Employment Employees may engage in other employment outside of their State working hours so long as the outside employment does not involve a conflict of interest with their State employment. Whenever it appears that any such outside employment might constitute a conflict of interest, the employee is expected to consult with his/her appointing authority or other appropriate agency representative prior to engaging in such outside employment. Employees of agencies where there are established procedures concerning outside employment for the purpose of insuring compliance with specific statutory restrictions on outside employment are expected to comply with such procedures.
FALSELY ACCUSED EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE When a teacher has been falsely accused of child abuse or sexual misconduct, the Board will assist the teacher by:
a. working with the teacher to develop a plan which facilitates a smooth return to the teaching profession;
b. providing additional funding if required to the Employee Family Assistance Program to ensure availability of counselling assistance to the employee and the employee‘s family;
c. providing, upon request by the employee, available factual information to parents and students;
d. providing restitution of lost wages resulting from the suspension of the teacher.
Special Maternity Allowance for Totally Disabled Employees (a) An employee who:
(i) fails to satisfy the eligibility requirement specified in subparagraph 17.02(a)(ii) solely because a concurrent entitlement to benefits under the Disability Insurance (DI) Plan, the Long term Disability (LTD) Insurance portion of the Public Service Management Insurance Plan (PSMIP) or the Government Employees Compensation Act prevents her from receiving Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance Plan maternity benefits, and
(ii) has satisfied all of the other eligibility criteria specified in paragraph 17.02(a), other than those specified in sections (A) and (B) of subparagraph 17.02(a)(iii), shall be paid, in respect of each week of maternity allowance not received for the reason described in subparagraph (i), the difference between ninety-three per cent (93%) of her weekly rate of pay and the gross amount of her weekly disability benefit under the DI Plan, the LTD Plan or via the Government Employees Compensation Act.
(b) An employee shall be paid an allowance under this clause and under clause 17.02 for a combined period of no more than the number of weeks during which she would have been eligible for maternity benefits under the Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance Plan had she not been disqualified from Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance maternity benefits for the reasons described in subparagraph (a)(i).
Special Parental Allowance for Totally Disabled Employees (a) An employee who:
(i) fails to satisfy the eligibility requirement specified in subparagraph 17.05(a)(ii) solely because a concurrent entitlement to benefits under the Disability Insurance (DI) Plan, the Long-term Disability (LTD) Insurance portion of the Public Service Management Insurance Plan (PSMIP) or via the Government Employees Compensation Act prevents the employee from receiving Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance Plan benefits, and
(ii) has satisfied all of the other eligibility criteria specified in paragraph 17.05(a), other than those specified in sections (A) and (B) of subparagraph 17.05(a)(iii), shall be paid, in respect of each week of benefits under the parental allowance not received for the reason described in subparagraph (i), the difference between ninety-three per cent (93%) of the employee's rate of pay and the gross amount of his or her weekly disability benefit under the DI Plan, the LTD Plan or via the Government Employees Compensation Act.
(b) An employee shall be paid an allowance under this clause and under clause 17.05 for a combined period of no more than the number of weeks during which the employee would have been eligible for parental, paternity or adoption benefits under the Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance Plan, had the employee not been disqualified from Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance Plan benefits for the reasons described in subparagraph (a)(i).
