ARTICLE XIII VACANCIES, NEW POSITIONS, AND PROMOTIONS

North Smithfield School District

In a side letter or MOA - The parties agree to form a committee populated by an equal number of Administration (selected by the Superintendent) and Teachers (selected by the Union) for the purpose of reviewing the “Interim Agreement regarding Hiring/Vacancy Process Internal Candidates MOA attached to this agreement. The purpose of the review will be to ensure that the District’s method of filling vacancies is within the parameters of the latest RIDE regulations and policies. The committee shall meet before the end of the 2016-20017 school year. Any recommendations from the group requires approval by the Union and the School Committee before becoming effective.

A. PROMOTIONAL VACANCIES

Vacancies for promotional positions, such as administrative and supervisory positions, excluding Superintendent, shall be filled pursuant to the following procedure.

a. Such vacancies shall be adequately publicized via notice posted in each building. During the summer, vacancies will be listed on the North Smithfield School District website, and email procedure.

b. Such notices shall be posted as far in advance as possible and open for at least ten (10) work days. In instances where successful applications create successive vacancies, five (5) business days shall be applicable.

c. Teachers who desire to apply for such vacancies shall submit their applications in writing to the Superintendent or his authorized agent within the time limit specified in the notice.

d. Such vacancies shall be filled by the applicant the Superintendent judges to be the best qualified person for the post.

e. Promotional positions are defined as: Positions with salaries in excess of the basic teacher salary schedule.

f. All openings for summer school, night school, or federal or state projects, shall be adequately publicized by the Superintendent and shall be posted in each school building as early as possible, and under normal circumstances not later than ten (10) work days prior to the start of such school sessions. Teachers in the North Smithfield School System will be given preference in the filling of the above positions.

g. Nothing herein shall be construed to impair the Committee's right to operate or abolish any position subject to its jurisdiction.

h. A copy of all postings pursuant to A above shall be forwarded in advance as early as practical to the Association President.

B. NON-PROMOTIONAL VACANCIES AND NEWLY CREATED POSITIONS

Vacant Positions — will be defined as retirement, resignation, and newly created. These jobs will be subject to the process under Schedule A. Internal candidates must be given preference for all vacant positions. Vacant positions will not be subject to call back and will be filled when callback is complete.

Any tenured teacher desiring a change in grade, subject, certification assignment or school shall file a Vacancy Application with the Superintendent, not later than June 17th. The application shall indicate the teacher’s grade, subject, or certification to which the teacher desires to be assigned and the school or schools to which he/she desires to be transferred. Teachers should list any job that they are interested in, even if it is not on the Anticipated Vacancies list, in order to be considered should it later become vacant.

Subsequent vacancies: The position of a teacher who is awarded a posted vacancy through this process will not be posted, but will be subject to Schedule A based on Vacancy Applications submitted to the Superintendent’s office by a date that is mutually agreed upon by the Superintendent and the local union. This will not occur later than the last day of school.

Newly created positions are positions which are not being taught in the current school year. An additional grade level classroom or an additional position within an area currently being taught will not be considered a new position. All newly created positions will be posted and will not be assigned through the Vacancy Application List. Teachers who wish to apply will submit a written letter of intent within five (5) working days of the posting.

The process for internal teacher movement should be completed no later than twelve (12) work days ptior to the start of school. Internal and external postings may run concurrently, as long as external candidates will not be hired until all Vacancy Applications have been considered.

PROCESS

One Candidate for One (1) Opening

a. The administrator will have to provide a substantial reason(s) [see attached Schedule A] why this certified, highly-qualified candidate is not his/her recommendation.

b. The administrator will meet or call the candidate to discuss any specifics to the position and answer any questions the teacher may have.

c. If there is a sole applicant who meets the criteria [Schedule A] for the assignment/position, that person may be recommended for that position immediately.

More Than One (1) Internal Candidate for One (1) Position

a. The administrator must interview each candidate under the guidelines of Schedule A. Candidates that have completed an interview in the current process within a patticular certification need not re-interview when mutually agreed upon by the administrator aad, the candidate, and the local union.

b. The Superintendent, or designee, must provide a substantial reason(s) [see attached Schedule A] why a certified, highly-qualified candidate is not recommended.

c. If candidates’ final Schedule A results are equal then years of experience will be the deciding factor.

All tenured teachers who teceive notice of termination who have not been called back will automatically be entered into the Vacancy Application Process as eligible for all positions that they are certified to teach at the time of layoff. All who apply for those positions will be subject to this process.

It is expected that internal staff, in most circumstances, will be able to fulfill the requirements of any vacant position, assignment, and/or transfer and therefore shall be the preferred choice of the District.

a. The Building Administrator will review the letters of interest as well as any other supportive information shared by the teacher with or without the assistance of a building teacher.

b. The Building Administrator will use Schedule A in determining his/her recommendation.

c. The Building Administrator may make a recommendation to the Superintendent based upon that information or may request to meet with the teacher before a final recommendation.

d. By law, the Superintendent may interview the candidate. The Superintendent will waive his level of interview of an internal candidate unless there is some level of controversy.

If, however, the Administration is unable to select an individual meeting the requirements on the basis of substantial and objective data, they will inform the Superintendent immediately. The Superintendent will review such a situation immediately with the NSTA President. That collective review will determine next steps. A teacher reserves the right to grieve a final decision.