Unassigned Teachers. If it becomes necessary to reduce staff in a department of a secondary school, the teacher in that department with the least length of service with the district will be declared unassigned, except where the subject area (teaching assignment) requires training, educational preparation, and certification not held by others in the department, in which event the person with the next least length of service with the district will be declared unassigned. If it becomes necessary to reduce classroom staff in an elementary school on or after the first day of school, the principal will meet with all classroom teachers certified for the grade level being reduced and ask for volunteers to be declared unassigned at that school. If no one volunteers, then the teacher in that building with the least length of service with the District and the required certification will be declared unassigned. The superintendent or designee will assign unassigned teachers to another building in a subject or teaching area for which they have the educational preparation and certification when positions are available. If a position for which the teacher who has been involuntarily transferred has the training, educational preparation and certification becomes available prior to August 1 in the building and/or department which the teacher previously taught, the teacher shall have the opportunity of being reassigned to that position. No teacher on a voluntary leave of absence will be assigned to any teaching assignment until all unassigned teachers with the training, educational preparation and certification in that subject are or teaching area are assigned. Teachers on leave for military service will be re-employed pursuant to federal law. Time spent on leave of absence will not be included in length of service with the district for the purposes of determining who shall be declared unassigned. After a teacher has been declared unassigned, that teacher may not use length of service with the district in securing a position in another school or within his or her present school. Length of service with the district shall be determined by the actual date of beginning employment as a teacher, not by the date of the contract or the date of employment by the Board of Education. The actual date of beginning employment shall not be changed by reason of the resignation of a teacher at the end of the school year and the re-employment of said teacher on the first day of the succeeding school year, but if a...
