The
Montpelier School District shall employ only the best-qualified candidates to
work with students. This will include individuals who are caring and effective professionals,
who are determined to be of high character, who are broadly educated, of proven
competence in their specific field, and who are motivated by and sympathetic to
the board’s mission. In addition, the district places a high value on community
involvement in the hiring process.
Since the school board
places such a high value on the appropriate process for hiring high quality
personnel, the school board has approved procedures for hiring principals,
administrators, and superintendent, which are attached. Changes to the
procedures must be brought to the school board for approval before they may be
implemented.
Definitions
There are six
categories of district employees: (1) superintendent, (2) principals, (3)
administrators, (4) instructional personnel, and (5) co-curricular employees
and educational leaders, and (6) general staff.
“Administrators” means
employees with administrative contracts providing particular services specified
in individual job descriptions, other than principals and superintendent.
“Instructional personnel” means teachers, guidance counselors,
behavior specialists, librarians, nurses, and any other employee covered by
Montpelier Education Association Negotiated Agreement.
“Co-curricular employees”
and “educational leaders” are individuals with contracts to lead co-curricular
activities or perform specific educational leadership.
“General staff” means all other staff employed by the school
district, including contractors.
Employee categories are
designated in job descriptions and the Montpelier Public Schools organizational
chart.
Recruitment
1. The board is committed to
securing the services of the best personnel available. Only individuals who
meet applicable state licensing requirements will be employed.
2. The board seeks minority applicants in accordance with its policy
pertaining to equal opportunity employment. The district will attempt to
provide an educational experience enhanced by the professional contributions of
representatives of different races, physical conditions, gender, ethnic
backgrounds, and age groups.
3. All instructional personnel and general staff will be recruited by
the district's principals or administrators under the immediate direction of
the superintendent.
1.
It is the policy of the Board to select employees
solely on the basis of professional qualifications and critical job
requirements. Employees will be selected in a manner that does not unlawfully
discriminate on the basis of race, age, marital status, color, gender, sexual
orientation, religion, disability, ancestry, or national origin. The use of
years of experience as a selection criterion is permissible and does not
constitute age discrimination
2. Criteria used to rank and
select the candidates shall be based on the following:
· quality and suitability of previous experiences.
3. When a candidate has previously been employed
by the school district, every effort will be made to obtain references from
parents, colleagues, and supervisors concerning the above criteria.
4. The superintendent shall create and maintain a pool of parents and
community members who are willing to serve and have served on interview
committees and submit a current list to the Board within one month of the date
of approval of this policy, and annually by November 1 thereafter.
5. The superintendent shall authorize an
interview committee to assist in the hiring of instructional personnel. If only
one person applies to a position after it has been appropriately advertised,
the principal may make a hiring decision without involvement of an interview
committee.
6. The superintendent shall authorize an
interview committee to assist in the hiring of head coaches. If only one person
applies to a position after it has been appropriately advertised, the principal
and athletic director, upon approval of the superintendent, may make a hiring
decision without involvement of an interview committee.
7. After appropriate advertising of
positions, the principal may use an interview committee to assist in the hiring
of all other co-curricular positions (for example, assistant coaches, yearbook
advisor, and club advisors) or may make a hiring decision without the
involvement of an interview committee.
8. The superintendent shall use a search
committee and process as described by the hiring procedure chart in the
district procedures to assist in the hiring of principals and administrators.
9. The board shall use a search committee
and process as described by the hiring procedure chart in the district
procedures to assist in the hiring of a superintendent.
Appointment of Personnel
1.
The board will appoint the
superintendent of schools.
2.
The appointment of principals,
administrators, instructional personnel, co-curricular employees, and
educational leaders will be made by the board upon the recommendations of the
superintendent of schools.
3. The superintendent shall make recommendation to the board on contract terms for principals and administrators. The superintendent will present the final written contract to the Board for approval.
Upon appointment, each
principal and administrator shall receive an annual contract stating salary and
other related matters. Renewal of such contract shall be issued by May 15.
Principals and administrators shall be entitled to all benefits, rights, and
privileges of the school system and be subject to its policies, standards and
procedures, and administrative practices.
Each administrator shall be
directly responsible to the superintendent or designee, with the exception of
the assistant to the principal, who will be responsible to the principal. The
principals shall be directly responsible to the superintendent.
The annual salary for each
position shall be determined upon such factors as responsibility and
performance.
4. The appointment of all other staff will be
made by the superintendent of schools.
5. Principals and administrators will have duties as outlined in job descriptions and specified in their contracts.
Criminal Record Checks
1.
All new employees of the school
district, including student teachers and those contractors and employees of
contractors who may have unsupervised contact with students, will be subject to
criminal record checks.
3. The superintendent shall require that all applicants, as a condition of employment consideration, cooperate fully with background investigations, supplying references and releases so the district can contact previous employers. Applicants the superintendent is prepared to recommend for employment will be expected to provide fingerprints, releases, and other information necessary to conduct criminal record background investigations. The costs of such checks will be borne by the prospective employee. All offers of employment will be conditioned upon completion of the background investigation and a finding that the information provided by the application during the pre-employment process was accurate, complete, and truthful.
4. The superintendent will
request a criminal records check through the Vermont Crime Information Center
(VCIC) on any candidate he or she is prepared to recommend for appointment.
Requests will be made for fingerprint-supported criminal records from the FBI
as well as criminal records from the state of Vermont and any state in which
the superintendent has reason to believe the applicant has resided or been
employed. The superintendent shall maintain such records in accordance with
state law.
5. Employment conditioned on
the completion of a background check may be terminated if it is determined that
the employee failed to respond truthfully to questions about criminal activity
or prior employment. In any event the superintendent shall forward the
information received from VCIC to, the person about whom the request was made and inform the
person of their rights to challenge the accuracy of the record and to determine
the disposition of the record under 16 V.S.A. §§255(f), (g).
6. Providing a safe learning
environment for students is a primary consideration in district employment
decisions. The district will base such decisions on all relevant information,
qualifications, and circumstances. Unfavorable background check information is
not an automatic bar to employment, nor is a background check with no
unfavorable information a guarantee of employment.
7. Contracts of employment
or other notification of employment will be conditional pending receipt of criminal
records check information and evaluation of that information.
8. Upon completion of a
criminal records check, the superintendent shall:
· notify the person subject to the check about the district’s protocol for maintenance of criminal history files, and
· ask the person subject to the check to indicate if his or her record should be maintained or destroyed after the retention period specified in the district’s user agreement with VCIC.
All offers of employment may be withdrawn based on the criminal records check report or upon a finding that the information provided by the applicant during the pre-employment process was inaccurate, incomplete, or untruthful. The superintendent shall also report any falsification of information on the application to law enforcement authorities for possible prosecution.
Warned: March
3, 2005
Adopted: March
16, 2005
Procedures D01