Administrative Procedure No.507

Professional Staff – Reductions

Policy:

The Board of Education believes that the quality of education it is able to provide for its students is directly related both to the professional expertise of its teachers and the maintenance of a desirable ratio of those teachers to the division’s students. Nevertheless the board does recognize its obligation to be financially responsible, and that funding problems and enrolment decline may necessitate reductions in the teaching staff.

Staffing for the division will be governed by the following regulations.

Approved by the Board of Education: June 18, 2006 Motion # 61-2006

Regulations:

1. The Board of Education in consultation with the Director of Education shall establish, as part of its annual budgetary process, the number of teacher full time equivalents for the following academic year for each school in the school division.
2. The Director of Education shall review the professional staff of each school with the school principals and shall make recommendations to the board of education with respect to which teachers will be retained. In arriving at that recommendation the Director of Education will select those teachers by considering the criteria outlined in the Procedures on Professional Staff Reduction.
3. Where a staff reduction is to be effected, the above criteria will be applied to the entire school division. The board will consider the recommendations of the Director of Education and determine which teacher(s) is (are) surplus to the needs of the division. The contracts of teachers declared redundant will be terminated in accordance with Section 206 of The Education Act.

Procedures

The Board of Education believes that the children attending its schools are entitled to the best instructional and other school services possible and, therefore, its schools should be staffed with teachers of the best quality available. The mandate of the Board includes provision of services which are sensitive to the educational needs of its students. The Board recognizes that its ability to provide such services may be constrained from time to time. The Board intends to remain alert to circumstances which may affect its ability to provide educational services to students and the manner in which it does so. Those circumstances include:

• Student enrolments, both current and projected;

• Provincial and/or local financial support for education;

• Student education needs; and

• New and/or revised curricula.

Should change in one or more of the above-noted areas be, in the opinion of the Board of Education, of sufficient significance, the Board may deem a reduction in the number of teaching staff full-time equivalents or a change in the type of available teaching assignments to be necessary. It is the policy of the Board to effect the reduction or change in a manner which considers the educational interest of students to be of paramount importance.

1. The Board will determine the number of full-time equivalent teaching positions for each school taking into account current and projected enrolments, financial resources, program offerings, special needs and circumstances of the individual school and the system as a whole.
2. The Board will determine the number of full-time equivalent teaching positions for each school taking into account current and projected enrolments, financial resources, program offerings, special needs and circumstances of the individual school and the system as a whole.
3. The Principal of each school shall review its professional staff and make a recommendation to the Director with respect to which teachers will be retained. In arriving at that recommendation the Principal shall select those teachers considering the following criteria in decreasing order of priority.
   1. Those teachers who have the most appropriate training, experience and/or skills for the assignment available. Every effort is to be made to ensure that appropriate staff are retained to effectively deliver the programs in the school. Core program requirements will take precedence over locally developed or elective program requirements.
   2. Those teachers demonstrating:
   3. the versatility and ability to teach a wide variety of subjects;
   4. grade level adaptability and flexibility.
   5. Where data are available, the degree and level of involvement in instructional effectiveness in-service taken recently.
   6. Where comparative data are available, the degree and level of involvement in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
   7. Where the above criteria do not determine all the staff members to be retained in the school, seniority will be the deciding factor. For the purpose of these guidelines seniority is defined as the length of time of a teachers most recent uninterrupted service with the Board as defined by Article 2.8 of the Provincial Collective Bargaining Agreement.
   8. Following his/her review, the principal shall notify the Director of Education regarding the recommended selection of professional staff and the basis for each teacher’s selection.
   9. The Director of Education will present staffing recommendations and the basis for them to the Board of Education after reviewing and evaluating the Principal’s recommendation in light of those criteria listed in paragraph 2 above.
   10. The Board will consider the recommendations of the Director of Education and determine which teacher(s) is (are) surplus to the needs of a particular school.
   11. A teacher who is surplus to the needs of a particular school in accordance with the above procedure will be assigned by the Board to an appropriate assignment within the Division where such an assignment is vacant. Where no appropriate assignment is vacant, the teacher’s contract will be terminated in accordance with Section 210 of The Education Act.