REDUCTION IN FORCE (RIF. School districts are finding it necessary to reduce their teaching staffs because of budgetary constraints, declining enrollments, return to duty after a leave of absence, suspension of schools, territorial changes impacting the district, changing course offerings and selections, and other comparable factors. In recent years, the Wickliffe School System has found it necessary to reduce staff for similar reasons and may be required to do so in the future. In accomplishing reductions in force, the overriding concern has been, and in the future must continue to be, the welfare of the children of the school district. Staff reductions can be achieved through administrative procedures and efforts which are as fair as is practicable to the personnel of the school system as a whole, under the difficult circumstances almost always attendant when a reduction in force takes place. Because of the compiling interests that come into play, no set of procedures for staff reduction is likely to be personally satisfactory to everyone affected or concerned. Hard and fast rules cannot be applied in determining the extent to which reductions are necessary, or for determining which positions or employees will be affected. Seniority, for example, can and should play a legitimate role in determining the order in which reductions in force are made, but inflexible adherence to seniority does not. Compliance with state and federal laws relating to employment decisions or achievement of the educational aims of the school system may require taking factors other than seniority into account. These administrative procedures have been established so that the certified employees of the school district can better understand in a general way what may happen should a reduction in force take place. These procedures are subject to revision in the future to ensure accomplishment of the educational aims of the school system and to insure compliance with state and federal laws relating to employment decisions.
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