Fourth Level Formal Appeal. An appeal not settled in Level 3 of the appeal procedure may be appealed to arbitration provided written notice of a request for arbitration is made to the President or her/his representative within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the response in Level 3. When a timely request has been made for arbitration, the parties to this contract or their designated representatives shall attempt to select an impartial arbitrator. Failing to do so, they shall, within ten (10) days of the request for arbitration, jointly request the Oregon State Conciliation Services Division in Salem, Oregon to submit a list of five (5) arbitrators. As soon as the list has been received, the parties or their designated representatives shall determine by lot the order of elimination and thereafter each shall, in that order, alternately strike a name from the list and the fifth and remaining name shall act as the arbitrator. The arbitrator shall schedule a hearing on the appeal, and, after hearing such evidence as the parties’ desire to submit to support or deny the appeal statement, shall render a written decision and opinion within thirty (30) calendar days following the close of the hearing. The arbitrator shall provide to the parties ten (10) days in advance of the hearing the rules that shall govern the arbitration hearing; the provided rules shall be those of common application in interest arbitrations involving Oregon public schools and community colleges. In all cases, the rules shall require that any known witnesses who will be used in arbitration must be made known to the other party at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the hearing. The arbitrator shall have no power to substitute his/her judgment for that of the Board in any matter not specifically contracted away by the Board in this Agreement. A decision and opinion of the arbitrator shall, within the scope of his/her authority, be binding upon all parties. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator will be equally split between the parties.
