Personnel and Employee Relations AP 426: Reduction in Professional Staff Work Force

Background

The Division acknowledges that one or more of the following circumstances may require it to effect a reduction of teaching staff:

• Decreased enrolments, actual or projected;
• Board directives altering student/teacher ratios;
• Reorganization of a school or schools, including program changes;
• Changes in government and/or local financial support for education; or
• Other circumstances identified by the Division or the Board.

Procedures

In declaring one or more teachers surplus to the Division staff, the following shall apply:

1. The Superintendent shall determine the number of teachers to be declared surplus.
2. Identification of individual teachers as surplus to the Division staff shall be carried out in accordance with the following:
   1. The following factors shall be major determinants (order does not reflect priority):
      1. Teaching credentials (i.e. teacher education, relevant degrees, and qualifications for existing positions);
      2. Relative competence (based on performance evaluation);
      3. Program requirements; and
      4. Seniority on Division staff (from effective date of current contract).
   2. The Head of Human Resources in consultation with the Principal shall have the responsibility for initial selection.
   3. The final recommendation shall be made in consultation with the Superintendent.
   4. Any teacher identified as surplus, hence a candidate for contract termination, will be so informed in writing by the Head of Human Resources with a copy to the Principal outlining the recommendation to terminate the contract of employment;
3. This Administrative Procedure does not require the Superintendent to assign a teacher whose contract is terminated as a result of the reduction in the teaching staff to any subsequent vacancy.