Informal Grievance Procedure Employees are encouraged to act promptly to attempt to resolve disputes with their manager/supervisor through an informal procedure. A meeting between the manager/supervisor and the employee should take place whenever requested by either party to assist, to clarify or resolve the grievance. The employee may be accompanied by his/her Union representative at the informal meeting. Any resolution reached at the informal step must be in accordance with the provisions of this agreement, or other rule or ordinance and shall not set precedent.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE A. A grievance shall be defined as an alleged violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of this Agreement or written Board policies affecting working conditions of the member. Should a member/Association feel that there has been a violation, he/she will take the following steps:
Step 1: The member/Association, with or without a designated representative, shall discuss the grievance with the Supervisor informally within five (5) work days of the alleged violation and, if not resolved, shall file a written grievance with the Supervisor within fifteen (15) work days of the alleged violation and discuss the written grievance with the Supervisor within five (5) work days after the grievance is filed. If no satisfactory conclusion is reached within five (5) work days following the discussion of the written grievance with the Supervisor, the member/Association shall submit the written grievance within five (5) work days of the discussion with the Supervisor to Step 2. A grievance which is not within the scope of a Supervisor's authority may be filed initially at step 2. The written grievance, as required herein, shall contain:
a. it shall be signed by the grievant(s)/Association.
b. it shall be specific;
c. it shall contain a synopsis of the facts giving rise to the alleged violation;
d. it shall cite the section or subsections of this contract or written Board policy alleged to have been violated;
e. it shall contain the date of the alleged violation;
f. it shall specify the relief requested;
g. it shall indicate approval or disapproval by the Association.
Step 2: The Superintendent or his/her designated agent shall arrange a meeting with the grievant and/or the designated Association representative within ten (10) work days after receipt of the grievance to discuss the grievance. Within ten (10) work days of the discussion, the Superintendent or his/her designated agent shall render his/her decision in writing, transmitting a copy of the same to the grievant, the Association representative, and appropriate Supervisor, and place a copy of same in a permanent file in his/her office. If the decision of the Superintendent is unsatisfactory to the Association, the Association may appeal same to the Board of Education by filing a written grievance, along with the decision of the Superintendent, with the officer of the Board in charge of drawing up the agenda for the Board's meeting, within ten (10) work days of receipt of the Superintendent's decision.
Evaluation Procedure 6.1.1 The established evaluation form is to be prepared by the immediate supervisor under whom the bargaining unit member has served for sixty (60) working days or more. (See evaluation form attached as Appendix B.) The immediate supervisor is to present a draft of an evaluation report to the bargaining unit member in private and discuss the report with the bargaining unit member being evaluated. The evaluation shall be based upon direct observation by the immediate supervisor or verified facts. Evaluation reports reflecting “Needs Improvement” or “Does not meet standards” ratings shall include statements of deficiencies and recommendations for improvements, in writing, by the evaluator. The signature by the bargaining unit member does not indicate the employee’s agreement with the ratings; it indicates that the employee has received a copy.
6.1.1.1 Permanent employees shall be evaluated annually.
6.1.1.2 Probationary employees shall be evaluated at least once during the probationary period, prior to the end of the fourth month.
6.1.2 Evaluation reports reflecting “Needs Improvement” or “Does Not Meet Standards” ratings shall be placed in the bargaining unit member’s personnel file only after written notification by the supervisor that the bargaining unit member has been given an opportunity to prepare a written response to such evaluation. Prior to evaluation reports reflecting any “Needs Improvement” or “Does Not Meet Standards” ratings the evaluator is encouraged to implement a Performance Improvement Plan. (See Performance Improvement Plan form attached as Appendix C.)
6.1.3 A bargaining unit member has the right to attach a response to the employee’s evaluation provided that such written response is submitted to the employee's supervisor within fifteen (15) days of the employee's receipt of the evaluation. Any timely received response shall be attached to, and become a permanent part of, the employee's evaluation.
6.1.4 Evaluatees may, within ten (10) working days, present the employee’s objections to the evaluation decision to the Director Personnel Services. Grounds for the objections shall be based on one or more of the following: (1) the evaluation was not based on fact; (2) the evaluation was based on discriminatory standards; (3) the evaluation was not conducted in conformance with this Article. Within ten (10) working days of receipt of such objection the Director Personnel Services shall hear the objections and render a decision whether to uphold the evaluation or rescind the evaluation.
6.1.5 The bargaining unit member's supervisor may, at any time, prepare a notice of commendation. The completed form is to be signed by the bargaining unit member to indicate receipt and the bargaining unit member shall be given a signed copy. The original notice is to be forwarded to the Personnel Services Office for filing.
6.1.6 Contents of evaluations are not subject to the grievance procedure of this Agreement, Article VII, but procedural violations are subject to the grievance procedure.
6.1.7 The probation period shall be defined as the initial six (6) month employment period.
6.1.8 In the event a permanent bargaining unit member is hired for a new position, and is subsequently released from probation under section 6.1.7, the employee will be returned to the employee’s previous classification.
6.1.9 The District, CSEA and the bargaining unit member may mutually agree to extend the probationary period of a bargaining unit member on an individual basis provided the extension is no longer than four (4) months.
PROFESSIONAL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE A. Any claim by the Association or a teacher that there has been a violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of the terms of the Agreement or violation of any established policy shall be a grievance and shall be resolved through the procedure set forth herein.
B. In the event that a teacher, or the Association believes there is a basis for a grievance, the teacher or representative of the Association within thirty (30) working days of the time the teacher knew of the circumstances giving rise to the grievance, shall first discuss the alleged grievance with the building principal either personally or accompanied by the Association Representative. The grievance process may begin at the Superintendent’s level when the building principal is not involved with an alleged incident.
C. If, as a result of the informal discussion with the building principal, a grievance still exists, the teacher or representative of the Association may, within ten (10) working days, invoke the formal grievance procedure through the Association on the grievance report form, signed by the grievant and a representative of the Association. Said form shall be available from the Association Representative in each building. A copy of the grievance form shall be delivered to the building principal, it may be filed with the Superintendent or a representative designated by him.
D. Within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance the principal shall meet with the Association in an effort to resolve the grievance. The principal shall indicate his/her disposition of the grievance in writing within five (5) working days of such meeting and shall furnish a copy thereof to the Association. If the Association desires to proceed to the next step, it shall do so within fifteen (15) calendar days of the principal’s disposition.
E. If the Association is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance, or if no disposition has been made within five (5) working days of such meeting (or ten [10] working days from the date of filing, whichever shall be later) the grievance shall be transmitted to the Superintendent. Within seven (7) working days the Superintendent or his/her designee, shall meet with the Association concerning the grievance and shall indicate his/her disposition of the grievance in writing within five (5) working days of such meeting, and shall furnish a copy thereof to the Association.
F. If the Association is not satisfied with the disposition of the superintendent, or if no disposition has been received within five (5) working days of such meeting the Association may proceed to a Board Level Hearing. This grievance hearing shall be heard in closed session, so long as it does not violate the open meetings act. If the grievance is not settled at the preceding step, it may be submitted to binding arbitration. Within fifteen (15) working days of the receipt of the Superintendent’s answer, the party choosing to arbitrate must give written notice to the other party, setting forth specifically the nature of the dispute to be arbitrated. The charging party shall file a Demand for Arbitration with the American Arbitration Association within fifteen (15) days from the notification date that arbitration will be pursued. The arbitrator shall be selected by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its rules, which shall likewise govern the arbitration proceedings.
G. The arbitrator shall have no power to rule on any of the following:
1. The termination of services of or failure to re-employ any probationary teacher.
2. Any claim or complaint for which there is another remedial procedure or forum established by law or by regulation having the force of law, including any matter subject to the procedures specified in the Teacher’s Tenure Act (Act IV Public Acts, Extra Session of 1937 of Michigan, as amended).
3. Any matter involving the content of a teacher evaluation.
H. The Board and the Association shall not be permitted to assert in such arbitration proceedings any ground or to rely on any evidence not previously disclosed to the other party. The arbitrator shall have no power to alter, add to, or subtract from the terms of this Agreement. Both parties agree to be bound by the decision of the arbitrator and agree that judgment thereon may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
I. The fees and expense of the arbitrator shall be shared equally by both parties.
J. The time limits provided in this Article shall be strictly observed but may be extended by written agreement of the parties. In the event a grievance is filed after May 15 of any year and strict adherence to the time limits may result in hardship to any party, the Board shall use its best efforts to process such grievance prior to the end of the school term or as soon thereafter as possible.
Procurement Procedures 11.1 The Recipient must secure the best value for money and shall act in a fair, open and non-discriminatory manner in all purchases of goods and services.
