A. Non-discrimination Policy

Teacher assignments will be made without discrimination against any individual because of age, gender, race, color, religion, marital status, sexual preference, national origin, or disability.

B. Transfers

In making transfers or teacher assignments, the convenience and wishes of the individual teacher will be honored to the extent they do not conflict with the best interests of the District and the students.

C. Notification of Assignment

Teachers, other than newly appointed teachers, will be notified of the schools to which they will be assigned, the grades and/or subjects they will teach, and any special or unusual classes they will have for the coming school year, as soon as practicable, and under normal circumstances, not later than July 1st.

D. Assignment

In order to assure students are taught by teachers working within their area of competence, teachers will not be assigned outside of the area of their teaching certification, except as permitted by New York State Education Law and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

E. Multiple School Assignments

Employees with multiple-school assignments are subject to the following:

1. An employee assigned to more than one (1) school in any one (1) school day will receive, upon written request to the Accounts Payable Department, the currently allowable Internal Revenue Service mileage rate for all interschool travel required in connection with the multiple school assignment.  Such reimbursement shall be calculated on the basis of the most direct available route and shall be limited to the mileage which the assignment requires in the normal daily performance of his/her duties.  A request and schedule shall be submitted not later than the first day of the fourth week of school, and must be approved by the Director of Staff Relations before payment can be authorized.  School social workers, attendance teachers, and other special teachers not on a single-school assignment, who have submitted a request and secured approval IN ADVANCE for in-district travel mileage allowance, shall be eligible to receive reimbursement.  An employee eligible under this paragraph shall file a claim for mileage in accordance with existing District policy.  Claims for reimbursement must be submitted at least on a quarterly basis.  All payments for reimbursable in-district travel MUST be claimed during the calendar year in which the travel was performed.

2. Employees with multiple-school assignments shall be assigned a home school at which they will be responsible to attend faculty meetings, orientation programs, and similar professional obligations.  It shall be the responsibility of each teacher with a multiple-school assignment to report to faculty meetings and other required programs at the school of record, unless specifically excused by the administrator of that school in order to attend such meetings elsewhere.

3. Employees with multiple-school assignments within a school day shall be permitted sufficient travel time between schools to permit the lunch period provided for in Article 5D (Lunch and Playground Program) of this Agreement.

F. Administrative Transfers

1. When administrative transfers are necessary, a teacher's area of competence, certification, major and/or minor field of study, quality of teaching performance, and length of service in the District will be considered in determining which teacher is to be transferred.  Considered with equal weight will be such items as the need for equitable distribution of experienced and inexperienced staff in all schools, and other matters related to the best interests of the District and students.

2. Administrative transfers shall be made observing the following regulations:

a. During the school year and at other times when feasible, an administrative transfer will be made only after consultation with the teacher involved and his/her principal or supervisor.  A teacher shall always be notified of the reasons for any transfer.  In the event a teacher objects to a transfer, and so requests, the Association will be notified.   The Superintendent, or his/her designee, will meet with the Association's representative and the teacher to discuss the transfer, but if a mutually satisfactory solution is not reached, the decision of the Superintendent shall be final;

b. All employees being administratively transferred shall be advised of open positions in other schools.  Employees may request the positions to which they desire to be transferred, and for which they are qualified and certified, in order of preference.   Such preference shall be one of the factors considered in making the transfer.

G. District-Wide Transfer List

1. Employees who wish to transfer to another school may inquire at any time to ascertain the possibility of such vacancy in the following year and file a written statement of such interest with the Director of Personnel.

2. The request for voluntary transfer would include grade and/or subject preference, and be made (on the form which is available in the principal's office) as early as possible in order to receive consideration when the building’s organization is being planned.

3. On or about April 1st, the District will publish a list of Employees who request voluntary transfers.  The deadline for applications for voluntary transfers to be included on the April 1st list will be the preceding March 1st.  The District will also publish by June 15th an addendum to the April 1st transfer list to include the names of those additional Employees who request voluntary transfers between April 1st and June 1st.   Each updated list will supplant previous lists and all requests for voluntary transfers will remain active for one (1) year from the publication date of the list on which the teacher’s name first appears.

4.     All applicants for voluntary transfer will be kept apprised of the status of their application.  (See subsection H2 of this Article, concerning procedures regarding annual review of request.)

H. District Transfer Procedure

1. Unit members who wish to transfer to another building or to another position within a building should follow these procedures:

a. Assignment changes within building: 

In January, building principals will distribute requests of alternate assignment forms.  Unit 1 members desiring reassignment within their building shall fill out such forms with reasons for request.  During the school year, if the building principal anticipates an opening, such openings will be posted in the teachers’ room of that building.  Unit 1 members interested in the opening(s) will discuss the opening(s) with the principal.  During the summer (for other openings which occur), building principals will contact members who have submitted an alternate assignment form specifying that type of opening. 

b. District-wide reassignment/transfers:

In order to match the instructional needs of students with the interests and skills of Unit 1 members, the District will:

i. Notify members on the transfer list of the vacancies and guarantee three (3) interviews whenever possible; 

ii. Post vacancies in the Central Office and in school buildings, and provide those postings to the Association.  Unit 1 members will have 10 school days to respond to the postings.  (Vacancies occurring between August 5th and September 15th, and vacancies occurring in areas of designated shortages as per New York State definition may have a shorter response period and applicants for such vacancies may not be guaranteed an interview.)  Postings will be updated weekly or more often as needed;

iii. Continue to post and update the website.  Postings will be updated weekly or more often as needed.  Postings will be sent electronically to the Association and posted at Central Office;

iv. When the parties agree that this website or other acceptable electronic means are operating to their mutual satisfaction, those electronic means shall replace the transfer list and manual posting procedures outlined above. 

2. Written notice of transfer will be given to employees as soon as practicable, and under normal circumstances, not later than June 1st.

3. Transfer procedures shall include the following:

a. As resignations and retirements are received, transfer requests will be considered before other employees are employed to fill existing vacancies.  It is recognized  it will not be possible to honor all transfer requests, but if a request is approved by the principal(s) involved, such transfer will be made at the first opportunity consistent with the best interests of all concerned;

b. Each transfer request shall be valid for only one (1) year.  In the spring and early summer, as the building organizations are being prepared for the following school year, consideration will be given to each request.  In the event it is not possible to grant the transfer, the teacher shall be notified in writing by the Personnel Division;

c. Employees are subject to assignment each year by the Superintendent. Recommendation for such assignment may be made by the principal following a conference with the teacher.  When assignment is made by the Superintendent following the close of the school year, the teacher and principal shall be given written notice as soon thereafter as practicable;

d. After consultation with the teacher involved, principals may implement transfers within their building when consistent with District policy and the terms and conditions of this Agreement;
e. All requests for transfer to another building shall be forwarded by the teacher to the Personnel Division with a simultaneous copy to the teacher's current building principal;

f. Except under unusual circumstances, teacher-initiated transfers will be accomplished at the beginning of the school year;

g. When a request for transfer has been granted, that transfer shall not be revoked except with the consent of all parties concerned in the transfer, or unless the revocation is necessary as the result of circumstances causing reorganization;

h. It is understood that employees will retain rights to their current positions until they have accepted the offer of a voluntary transfer to another position, but any such right shall cease to exist once the offer has been accepted.

I. Seniority/Reduction in Force

1.  Reductions in force, recall from Preferred Eligibility Lists, and consideration of transfers shall be made pursuant to the applicable provisions of the New York State Education Law.  Decisions of the Commissioner of Education and court decisions relating to the foregoing, and seniority shall not delimit, diminish or otherwise impede or restrict the District when making reductions in force, recalls or transfers within the operative framework provided by said statute, and/or decisions.

2. Seniority shall also govern those situations where District-wide reductions in force occur, or when staffing levels or programs are reduced in a particular school.

3. Where seniority is equal, the date of appointment and subsequently the placement on the list of appointees shall be the determining factors.

4. No period of service which is not full-time service in Unit 1 shall be included for purposes of calculating seniority.

5. Continuity of appointed service shall not be interrupted by any period of unpaid, approved leave of absence.  The period of such leaves, however, shall not be included for purposes of calculating seniority.

6. Any period of paid leave of absence shall be included for purposes of calculating seniority.

7. The District shall maintain an accurate and timely seniority list of all teachers during the school year.  Copies of, or revisions to, such lists shall be provided to the Association upon request.

J. Reduction in Force – Adult Programs

Should program funding or a decrease in student enrollment cause the District to contemplate cut backs in adult programs (those involving Vocational Instructors, Counselors, Job Developers, Remedial Instructors, Case Managers, Nurse Assistant Instructors, and Adult Education Teachers), the District will meet with representatives of the Association to discuss potential alternative funding or student recruitment.  Should the District determine that reductions in programming are necessary, the least senior qualified employee in the job title will be reduced in hours and/or months.  When layoffs occur, full-time qualified employees will be excessed in order of reverse seniority in the job title and placed on a preferred eligibility list pursuant to applicable New York State Law.  (“Qualified” means having rendered service in the specific area of instruction.)