Professional Dues The school district will pay the annual dues for the Superintendent’s membership in the following organizations: Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA), The School Superintendents Association (AASA), and any other membership dues requested by the Superintendent and approved by the Board.
Professional Day The period set forth in the Professional Day Article.
Professional Days The President of the College or the President’s designee may assign any faculty member up to seven (7) days during the academic year for scheduled orientation and registration programs, commencement and convocation activities and such other College sponsored activities the Present deems appropriate. Professional days shall be assigned no earlier than three (3) days prior to the first (1st) day of classes in the fall semester and no earlier than four (4) days prior to the first (1st) day of classes in the spring semester. Such duties and responsibilities may be assigned to individual faculty members in blocks in one-half (1/2) day or more; and provided further that a faculty member shall not be required to discharge these responsibilities over more than fourteen (14) days during the academic year.
Professional Development Committee There shall be a Professional Development Committee composed of two (2) members of the Association one of whom shall be the Bargaining Unit President or designate and two (2) representatives of the Hospital one of whom shall be the Chief Nursing Officer or designate and one human resources representative.
Local Professional Development Committee A. There shall be a Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) to oversee, review, and approve individual professional development plans (IPDP) for course work, continuing education units and/or other equivalent activities.
1. The LPDC shall be responsible to recommend for the Superintendent’s approval, all in-service activities and workshops offered in the district during the school year for staff professional development.
2. Recommendations for District Workshops and In-Service activities should be submitted to the LPDC for approval and recommendation no later than the last school day of the year prior to the year it will be implemented.
3. The LPDC chair shall review and approve all “Professional Growth Reimbursement Application” forms.
B. The LPDC shall consist of three (3) teachers appointed by the Association President and two (2) members appointed by the Superintendent. One of the Superintendent's appointees will be a Principal employed by the district.
C. Appointments shall be for two (2) years with half of the committee members being appointed every other year.
1. Appointments shall be made on or before May 1.
2. The Appointments shall be made by each party outlined above, notifying the other of those appointed.
3. In the event of a vacancy, the committee members shall be replaced in accordance with "B." above.
4. The Association shall name a fourth teacher member and the Superintendent shall name a third administrative member to serve as alternates and attend trainings. These two (2) people shall act as substitutes when a committee member is absent.
D. This committee shall meet monthly.
1. The committee may also be convened by the request of two sitting members.
2. A quorum shall consist of five (5) members. When administrative licenses/certificates are reviewed, two (2) sitting teacher members will abstain and the decision will be decided by three (3) members.
3. If the committee determines it is needed, they will be provided two (2) professional release days to meet during regular school hours. Substitutes will be provided for the committee members on these release days.
4. Committee members shall be provided an additional annual stipend of $1,000 for meetings beyond the normal work day or year. This stipend shall be paid in two (2) semi-annual payments. Any member who fails to serve the full year shall have the above compensation prorated on a monthly basis for each month served.
5. Decisions of the LPDC will be made by consensus of the committee members present.
6. The committee minutes shall be prepared and maintained in compliance with the laws governing the operation of committees of public bodies.
Professional Development Program (a) The parties agree to continue a Professional Development Program for the maintenance and development of the faculty members' professional competence and effectiveness. It is agreed that maintenance of currency of subject knowledge, the improvement of performance of faculty duties, and the maintenance and improvement of professional competence, including instructional skills, are the primary professional development activities of faculty members.
(b) Information collected as part of this program shall be the sole property of the faculty member. This information or any judgments arising from this program shall not be used to determine non-renewal or termination of a faculty member's contract, suspension or dismissal of a faculty member, denial of advancement on the salary scale, nor affect any other administrative decisions pertaining to the promotion or employment status of the faculty member.
(c) A joint advisory committee consisting of three regular faculty members who shall be elected by and are P.D. Committee Chairpersons and three administrators shall make recommendations for the operation, financing and management of the Professional Development Program.
PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR
A. The Code of Ethics of the Education Profession is considered by the Faculty Senate and the Board as acceptable criteria of professional behavior. The Faculty Senate shall address ethical problems in accordance with the terms of such Code of Ethics of the Education Profession (Appendix A).
B. No bargaining unit member shall be disciplined or discharged without just cause or without being accorded due process, except as described in Article XI paragraph A, concerning the orientation period.
C. Non-disciplinary, paid administrative leave may be issued while an allegation of misconduct is being investigated. The bargaining unit member’s pay shall not be interrupted nor reduced while on non- disciplinary paid administrative leave. Non-disciplinary paid administrative leave is designed to protect the integrity of a fact-finding investigation, and shall not be considered discipline to the bargaining unit member.
D. A bargaining unit member shall at all times be entitled to have present a representative of the Faculty Senate when they are being reprimanded, warned, or disciplined for any infraction of rules or delinquency in professional performance. When a request for such representation is made, no action shall be taken with respect to faculty until such representative of the Faculty Senate is present.
E. The bargaining unit member shall sign and receive a copy of each disciplinary action. The signing of this document is not to be construed as an admission of guilt but only as an acknowledgement that such action exists. In imposing any sanction on a current charge, the College shall not consider any prior infraction which occurred more than six (6) years previous to the date of the occurrence of the event on which the current charge is based except in instances specified in Article III, paragraph M.
F. No student, parental, citizen, or college personnel complaints originating after initial employment shall be placed in a bargaining unit member’s personnel file unless the bargaining unit member has had an opportunity to review the material, to respond to the material, and a preponderance of the evidence that supports that discipline is merited. Complaints against the bargaining unit member shall be put in writing with names of the complainant(s). The administrator shall attach to the written complaint a written explanation of all administrative action taken and administrative expectations (if any) of the bargaining unit member. The bargaining unit member may submit a written notation or reply regarding any complaint, and the same shall be attached to the file copy of the material in question. When documentation relating to a complaint is to be placed in a bargaining unit member’s file, the affected bargaining unit member shall be given the opportunity to review and sign said material; such signature will be understood to indicate awareness of the material but in no instance will said signature be interpreted to mean agreement with the content of the material.
Independent Activities 14.1 Except as expressly provided herein, each party shall have the free and unrestricted right to independently engage in and receive the full benefit of any and all business endeavours of any sort whatsoever, whether or not competitive with the endeavours contemplated herein without consulting the other or inviting or allowing the other to participate therein. No party shall be under any fiduciary or other duty to the other which will prevent it from engaging in or enjoying the benefits of competing endeavours within the general scope of the endeavours contemplated herein. The legal doctrines of "corporate opportunity" sometimes applied to persons engaged in a joint venture or having fiduciary status shall not apply in the case of any party. In particular, without limiting the foregoing, no party shall have any obligation to any other party as to:
(a) any opportunity to acquire, explore and develop any mining property, interest or right presently owned by it or offered to it outside of the Property at any time; and
(b) the erection of any mining plant, mill, smelter or refinery, whether or not such mining plant, mill, smelter or refinery treats ores or concentrates from the Property.
Professional Development Funds 23.1.1 Two Professional Development Funds, a Professional Development Support Fund and an Education Leave Fund, shall be established to support professional development activities as defined in 23.2. On April 1st of each year, the College will allocate an amount equal to no less than 0.9% of total faculty salary (exclusive of severance payments) to the Professional Development Support Fund, and an amount equal to no less than 0.6% of total faculty salary to the Educational Leave Fund. Any unused balances in these funds shall carry over to the next budget year.
23.1.2 The College agrees to provide the Association with the authority to administer the program on behalf of the College for those activities approved by the College in accordance with 23.2, 23.4 and 23.5.
23.1.3 Nothing in this Agreement prevents the College from funding professional development activities in addition to those activities supported through the Professional Development Funds (23.1.1) in accordance with the procedures described in this Article.
Professional Development Fund Article 20