Cobb County School District Reduction In

Force Process2010-11

What Led to the RIF?

Packet Contents• PowerPoint Presentation• Surplus Position

Worksheet• Q & A• Letters - Part-time ; Limited

• Scripts - Part-time ; Limited

• Notification Checklist• Benefits Information• Contact List

Principal’s Meeting April 29, 2010

This process will have two distinct facets:(1) RIF (2)Reassignment

HR will determine the specific teachers, based on level and/or subject area, who will be RIF’d based on District-wide seniority.

Individual schools will not identify those teachers/employees.

Supplements do not protect employees in a RIF.

After employees impacted by the RIF have been notified by May 15th, there most likely will be a need to reassign individuals from one location to another. This part of the process will occur at a later date.

Principals Receive Allotment Sheets • Review Allotment Sheets• Determine Subject Area Staffing Needs • Identify :

Grade/Position/Subject Area

– Not People – That Must Be “Surplused” for 2010-11

EXAMPLE(1) For 2009-10, a high school needed 15

English positions to meet their staffing needs. For 2010-11 (with the reduced allotment), that high school now only needs 12 English positions to meet their staffing needs. The high school will then have 3 English positions to be “surplused” for 2010-11.

IMPORTANTInternal reassignments cannot be

made at this time. Even if your employees hold other certifications, no internal reassignments can be made.

Rationale• We must be able to determine district-wide seniority

by level and/or subject area. • Internal reassignments will prevent the appropriate

identification of the least senior teacher in an identified “surplus” area.

• Moving teachers into other subject areas could also potentially cause them to be moved into a “surplus” subject area position in which they would be subject to RIF.

• Example: A middle school teacher currently teaching Language Arts who also holds science certification cannot be moved into a science position. A special education teacher cannot be moved into a math position.

• Once we determine the subject areas/positions that are to be “surplused”, the seniority of individuals will be determined based on their current teaching/job assignments.

• If the individual teaches more than one subject, the primary subject area teaching assignment will be the one used to determine seniority. If he/she is 50/50, the last full day subject/job assignment will be used.

• Part-time certified employees cannot be moved into full-time positions at this time.

On the Certified Position Surplus

Worksheet ( Due Monday, May 3rd)

After looking at staffing needs, please list the surplus (overstaffed) positions you have

identified for your school. List only one position per

line.See examples on the following slides.

SAMPLE OF FORM

Certified Position Surplus Worksheet

What certified positions (not people) are you overstaffed for the 2010-11 school year?

Subject/Grade(one per line)

Example For Elementary : K-5/EIP ; PE

Example For Middle: Math

Example for High School: Science

Example for SPED: General Curriculum (IRR)

Sample of Certified Position Worksheet ( Elementary)

Subject/Grade(one per line)

1. K-5/EIP2. K-5/EIP3. Physical Education4. Sped Ed – General Curriculum5. Sped Ed – General Curriculum

While schools are identifying their surplus positions and completing the Worksheet, HR will be reviewing and rechecking their lists of current employees which have been sorted by hire date and by:

Elementary -- Level and/or Subject (K-5/EIP; PE)

Middle School – Level (MS) and Subject (MS-Math; FACS)

High School -Level (HS)and Subject (HS – Science; Math)

Special Education – Subject (General Curr. ; Adaptive)

to insure that the names of part-time certified, limited contract, retiring, and resigning employees and employees with performance issues have been removed from the employee lists.

The completed Certified Position Surplus Sheet for each school will be due in HR by NOON on

Monday, May 3rd. Please fax to HR – 678.594.8580

Once the forms for all schools, divisions, and departments are received, HR will compile a

list of identified surplus positions for elementary, middle school (by subject area),

high school (by subject area), and special education .

After the lists of positions have been compiled, HR will then determine the total number of positions for RIF by: Elementary -- Level and/or Subject (K-5/EIP ; PE)

Middle School - Level and Subject (MS --Math; FACS) High School -Level and Subject (HS – Science ; Business)

Special Education – Subject (General Curr ; Adaptive)

If the number of positions identified for RIF in : Elementary -- Level and/or Subject (K-5/EIP; PE) Middle School - Level and Subject (MS-Math; FACS) High School -Level and Subject (HS –Science;Business)

Special Education – Subject (General Curr ; Adaptive)

is equal to or less than the numbers of employees (in the specific “surplus” areas) who have already identified as those leaving the District at the end of the school year (part-time, limited contract, performance, retirement, resignation), then no additional employees in that particular “surplus” area may be identified for RIF.

Specifically designated hire dates will be established for:

Elementary Special Education Middle School

High School Those teachers (in identified areas for surplus)

whose hire dates are after the designated dates specific to those levels (elementary, middle, high) and/or subject area (Special Ed) will be non-renewed.

Let’s say, for example, that the upcoming school year is 2019-20 and it has been determined that anyone (district-wide) hired in high schools after 8/4/2017 will be non-renewed. HR will review the list of high school teachers currently teaching in subject areas where surplus positions exist and identify the teachers with least district seniority who will be non-renewed for the 2019-20 school year.

See the English example on the next slide. Those in red font will be non-renewed. The process described will be used in all areas.

Name School Subject Hire Date

Joe Smith Rex HS English 8/1/2013

H. Jones Jones HS English 5/6/2013

B. Cloud Veterans HS English 8/3/2014

J. Kemp Skip HS English 8/1/2015

S. Long Bates HS English 1/5/2016

M. Sykes Vandy HS English 3/5/2016

J. Brown Wilhite HS English 9/7/2017

D. Hunt Phillips HS English 9/7/2017

B. Sorry Rex HS English 9/9/2017

I. Sears Vandy HS English 8/3/2018

V. Mitchel Jones HS English 1/9/2019

T. Long Rex HS English 2/5/2019

B. Kind Skip HS English 3/9/2019

NOTE: Those in red font will be non-renewed.

Once HR has identified the specific teachers to be non-renewed, the Principals of those teachers will be notified.

Scripts will be provided to assist with conferences with those individuals who are being non-renewed. In addition to the scripts, information regarding benefits, COBRA, unemployment, etc., will be provided to give the employees.

IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND It is possible that there may be a situation where a

school may not be losing a position and it may appear that the current staff will remain in tact.

However, when surplus positions are reviewed district- wide and seniority is determined, a teacher in a particular subject area at that school , in fact, may be identified as having least district-wide seniority and may be RIF’d. The vacant position at the school will then be filled by an appropriately certified teacher , who has seniority, reassigned from another school.

Example Rex HS does not need to place an English position on

the “surplus” position list. Jane Doe is one of the English teachers at Rex HS. When the district-wide list is compiled and reviewed by subject and hire date, it is determined that Jane Doe is one of the teachers with least district-wide seniority and subsequently will be among those teachers being non-renewed. That will leave a vacant English position at Rex. That vacant position will likely be filled by an English reassignee (who has district seniority) from another school.

TimelineApril 29 Meeting with PrincipalsMay 3 Surplus Worksheet Due To HRMay 3-7 HR Identifies Staff Reduction for the CountyMay 10 Principals/Supervisors are notified of RIF’d employees in

their school /division.May 10-12 Principal/Supervisor meets with RIF’d employee(s) using

prepared script.May 12 Contracts/Letters delivered to schoolsMay 13 Contracts/Letters given to staffMay 24 Contracts Due To SecretariesMay 26 Contracts Due to Central Office (Peggy Douglas)TBD Reassignees Identified and Reassignment Meeting HeldJune-July Competitive RehiresJune-July Competitive New Hires