REDUCTION IN FORCE A. In any reduction in the bargaining unit as a result of budgetary actions or curriculum and/or administrative organization, every effort will be made to transfer affected teachers to other similar positions within the school system where vacancies exist and for which the affected teachers are certified.
B. If no similar positions are available, rehired retirees, provisionally certificated teachers and non- tenured teachers in the subjects and/or grade levels affected will be laid off or separated from the active employment rolls prior to tenured teachers in the same subjects and/or grade levels. If it becomes necessary to lay off tenured teachers, they shall be laid off in the inverse order of their seniority. An appropriate seniority list will be made available for inspection when a tenured teacher has been laid off and disputes a seniority ranking. The seniority list will be developed from the last date of employment and furnished to the Association. If there is a tie, the affected teachers will have seniority calculated as defined in Article I, Section B.7. Teachers on an unpaid leave of absence shall retain accrued seniority. Teachers on military leave, Association leave and on layoff shall continue to accrue seniority during that time. A countywide list of all certificated personnel employed as of July 1 of each year shall be compiled and available upon request of FCTA. The list will indicate name, date of first employment, date of current employment and department and location code.
C. Teachers on layoff shall be placed on a priority recall list in accordance with their seniority. The teachers shall be recalled as vacancies become available in accordance with their position on the list and their certification for said vacancies.
D. When vacancies become available, the teacher will be notified of the vacancy by phone and email sent to the last known address. The teacher so notified shall notify the responsible administrator, in writing, in not more than ten (10) days after receipt of notification of the vacancy as to whether or not the position will be accepted. The teacher may decline the first offer of employment. If the teacher declines the second offer of a position, reemployment rights shall be forfeited. All teachers shall remain on the priority recall list for a maximum of three (3) years.
E. While a layoff continues, no new teachers shall be hired except in those unique circumstances where (a) there are no teachers on the priority recall list qualified to fill the vacancy or (b) all qualified teachers on the priority recall list decline the offer to fill the vacancy.
F. Any layoff due to reduction in force shall not be subject to any dismissal procedure required elsewhere in this Agreement.
G. Teachers recalled under these provisions shall have restored to them all previously accrued sick leave and personal leave.
H. The Board and the Association recognize that appropriate governmental agencies that have jurisdiction may promulgate rulings and/or regulations that may impact this Article. If such rulings or regulations cause any provisions to be in conflict, the parties shall meet within ten (10) days for the purpose of renegotiating only the provision(s) held to be contrary.
Reduction in Force and Recall Section 13.1. It is the intent of the parties, through this article, to establish an objective procedure by which a reduction in force (i.e., layoff or job abolishment) may be accomplished, should the need arise, and supersede the provisions of ORC 124.321 to 124.328, 124.37, OAC 123: 1-41-01 to 123: 1-41-22, and all local rules and regulations of the City of East Cleveland Civil Service Commission governing work force reductions.
Section 13.2. Employees may be laid off as a result of lack of work, lack of funds, or abolishment of position. In the event of a layoff, the Employer shall notify the affected employee thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the effective date of layoff. The Employer agrees to discuss with representatives of the FOP the impact of the layoff on the bargaining unit member. Any layoff in the bargaining unit shall be in accordance with departmental seniority, i.e., the most recent employee hired is the first employee laid off. Any employee laid off from a bargaining unit position may, at his option, displace a permanent part-time or intermittent employee in the same classification. Failure to bump or failure to accept a recall to a part-time or intermittent position shall not jeopardize an employee’s recall rights to a full-time position.
Section 13.3. Employees who are laid off shall be placed on a recall list for a period of three (3) years. If there is a recall, employees who are still on the recall list shall be recalled, in the inverse order of their layoff, provided they are presently qualified to perform the work in the work section to which they are recalled. Any recalled employee requiring additional training to meet the position qualifications in existence at the time of recall must satisfactorily complete the additional training required in this section. Such training shall be at the Employer’s expense.
Section 13.4. The recalled employee shall have ten (10) calendar days following the date of recall notice to notify the Employer of his intention to return to work and shall have fifteen (15) calendar days following receipt of the recall notice in which to report for duty, unless a different date for return to work has been otherwise agreed upon.
REDUCTION IN STAFF SENIORITY
1. Probationary and non-degree teachers will be laid off first. This is provided that qualified tenure teachers are available.
2. No teacher shall be discharged or laid off pursuant to a necessary reduction in personnel unless he/she has written notification of said action.
3. During any period when the number of the teaching staff is reduced, the Board will not hire a new teacher to replace an incumbent teacher who is qualified and available to fill an available teaching position.
4. The Board will use its efforts to assist all released teachers to secure employment in other school districts.
5. The Board shall provide notice of layoff to the Association and the individuals involved no later than the third (3rd) Friday in May for the subsequent school year. The Board shall give not less than sixty (60) days’ notice of layoff to the Association and the individuals involved for the current school year.
6. If it becomes necessary to lay off tenure teachers, the following factors shall be used:
a. If the teacher is fully certified by the State of Michigan and has a major or minor in the teaching field (based upon total semester hours earned), seniority in the Rockford Schools shall prevail.
b. In the event a teacher is properly certified in a teaching field, and has fifteen (15) or more hours in that field but lacks the necessary requirements to be highly qualified, they shall have one (1) year to complete the necessary requirements, if approved by the State of Michigan
1) Seniority is defined as length of unbroken service within the bargaining unit and shall be computed from the bargaining unit member’s initial date of hire. Seniority date shall be determined by the date said teacher contract was signed, given approval by the Board of Education. If necessary, ties in seniority will be broken by drawing lots with the Association President present.
2) A seniority list shall be published by the District by October 15 of each school year. A copy of the seniority list and subsequent revisions and updates, if made, shall be forwarded to the Association and the building representatives.
3) Time spent on unpaid leave, for one semester or more, shall not be construed as a break in continuous service. However, the time spent on that leave would be deducted from the initial date of hire on the seniority list. Seniority will be lost if on unpaid leave or layoff for three years, unless mutually extended in writing by the District and the Association.
4) No person other than a member of the bargaining unit shall possess, retain or accrue seniority within the bargaining unit.
5) Members who transfer to a non-bargaining unit position shall retain only that seniority accrued while members of the bargaining unit.
6) Involuntarily reduced assignments shall count as if the service were at the full teaching load and will count as full-time seniority. Voluntary reduced assignments shall count only for the time spent on the job and shall receive the pro rata amount toward their seniority.
d. Approved leaves do not break or extend seniority.
e. In the event two (2) or more tenure teachers have the identical qualifications and certifications, the following factors shall weigh equally in the final determination:
1. Highest degree held;
2. Seniority in department or teaching field;
3. Teaching competence;
4. Number of years since teaching in his/her field.
7. If such teacher reductions are necessary, the Association shall be asked for recommendations using the aforementioned criteria (No. 6).
8. If any such teachers desire to be reemployed when future vacancies occur, they shall keep the Board advised of his/her current address and telephone number.
9. Procedure for recall shall be as follows:
a. Seniority tenure teachers will be recalled in inverse order of layoff for positions for which they are certified and qualified as determined by number six (6).
10. It is understood and agreed that provisions hereof with respect to staff reduction shall in no way be construed as a waiver of rights otherwise available under the Tenure Act without specifications or agreement as to what such rights may be.
11. Any teacher recalled to work from layoff shall be entitled to at least two (2) weeks written notice delivered to his/her last known address prior to being required to report to work. If such a teacher is given more than two (2) weeks notice, he/she shall be required to reply in writing within the two (2) weeks, agreeing to report to work at the date requested. If a recalled teacher refuses or fails to reply and/or report to work within the two (2) week time requirement, such teacher shall be considered as a voluntary “quit” and shall thereby terminate any employment relationship with the Board. Any teacher recalled to work from layoff shall be entitled to at least two (2) weeks notice delivered to his/her last known address by certified mail, return receipt requested prior to being required to report to work. It is expressly understood and agreed by both the Board and the Association that the beginning of the two (2) week requirement shall begin only after the teacher signs the return receipt.
12. The refusal of a current full-time properly certified and qualified tenure person of a part-time position shall not remove the individual from the recall list. This provision shall not invalidate any other section or article of this Agreement.
Demotion in Lieu of Layoff The appointing authority shall determine by class, subject to review by the Director, whether demotion shall be afforded employees as an option in lieu of layoff. At the request of the appointing authority, a permanent employee shall, in lieu of layoff, be afforded the option of demotion within the same department to a position in a lower class, provided that no such demotion shall in turn require the layoff or demotion from such lower class of any employee whose layoff rating is at least as high as that of the demoting employee. A probationary employee may be afforded the opportunity to accept a demotion within the same department to a position in a lower class provided no such demotion shall in turn require the layoff of any employee in the lower class. Such probationer shall not become permanent in the lower class by this action except by completing a new full probation period in such lower class.
