Hearing Before the Board of Trustees. The discipline hearing shall be held before the Board of Trustees. The President of the Board or designee shall preside. The hearing shall be held in closed session unless the bargaining unit member requests, in writing, an open hearing at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the hearing. The following guidelines shall be used in conducting hearings.
1. The District has the burden of proving that the recommended discipline is warranted. Therefore, the District must present its case first.
2. The unit member may request that District employees be present as witnesses at the hearing by making a written request to the District’s Executive Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations at least five (5) calendar days before the hearing.
3. The hearing will be recorded by the District and a copy of the tape will be made available to the employee upon his/her request.
4. Oral evidence shall be taken only on oath or affirmation.
5. Each party shall have the right to call and examine witnesses; to introduce exhibits; to cross-examine opposing witnesses; to impeach any witness regardless of which party first called his/her to testify; and to rebut the evidence against him/her. If the accused unit member (respondent) does not testify in his/her own behalf, he/she may be called and examined as if under cross examination.
6. The hearing need not be conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper the admissions of such evidence over objection in civil actions. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing and examining other evidence but shall not be sufficient standing by itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in civil actions.
Hearing Before the Board of Trustees. 9.6.1 If the unit member served with a recommendation for disciplinary action files a timely request for hearing, the Board of Trustees may conduct such hearing itself or may appoint a designee to conduct such a hearing.
9.6.1.1 Such designee may include, but is not limited to, a hearing officer (e.g., an Administrative Law Judge obtained through the Office of Administrative Hearings).
9.6.1.2 Any decisions rendered by such a designee shall be advisory to the Board.
9.6.2 If a unit member requests a hearing and subsequently fails to appear at the hearing, the unit member shall be deemed to have waived any right to participate or be represented at the hearing and action may be taken without further notice to the unit member, based upon the recommendation for disciplinary action prepared by the Superintendent or his/her designee, and previously served upon the unit member.
9.6.3 The hearing shall be conducted in closed session unless the unit member requests a public hearing. The Board or its designee may deliberate in the absence of the unit member and the District administration.
9.6.4 At such hearing, the unit member shall be entitled to appear personally, to be represented by a person of his/her choice to introduce relevant evidence on his/her behalf, to cross-examine witnesses and to challenge evidence presented by the District.
9.6.5 The Board of Trustees’ determination of the sufficiency of the cause for disciplinary action shall be conclusive.
