2.2 Personnel File

There shall be only one personnel file which shall be maintained at the superintendent’s office. Every employee shall have the right to review all materials in his/her personnel file by appointment upon written notice during the normal business hours and in the presence of a designated employee of the BOARD. A designated representative of the employee’s choosing may inspect an employee’s file, if written approval by the employee is given to the Superintendent.

No employee shall remove any material from a personnel file. When copies are required, a designated employee of the BOARD will make necessary copies at a charge not to exceed the cost of duplication determined annually by the BOARD. The BOARD shall notify the employee in writing if it is required to produce the personnel file pursuant to any state and/or federal laws and/or their implementing regulations. When an employee file is required by another agency and the request is not initiated by the employee, then the employee will not be charged.

No materials shall be placed in the employee file unless the employee has first been given a copy of the material and an opportunity to sign as received. If the employee declines to sign, said material may be placed in the personnel file if the Association President is first notified in writing of said action. Any alleged incident which has not been reduced to writing in thirty (30) calendar days shall not be added to the file. Any materials not contained in the employee’s personnel file shall not be used to evaluate or discipline the employee in any manner. The employee may if he/she chooses, respond the any documents in his/her file within ten (10) school days of the date such documents are served on the employee, which response will be attached to the document in question.

2.3 Right to Organize

Employees shall have the right to organize, join, and assist the Association in professional negotiations with the Board. The Board of Education or the Association shall in no way discriminate against any employee, with respect to hours, wages, terms and conditions of employment, for reasons of membership or non-membership in the Association, participation in negotiations with the Board, or the institution of any grievance, complaint or proceeding under this Agreement.

2.4 Meetings, Notices, and General Information

The ASSOCIATION shall not be denied the following:

A. The use of school buildings for meetings upon prior written request to the building administrator if said meeting does not conflict with previously scheduled events.

B. The use of employee communications system and faculty lounge/teacher work room bulletin boards for the purpose of internal communications when and where available.

C. The President of the ASSOCIATION shall receive a copy of the agenda and minutes of all BOARD meetings, excluding executive session.

D. The BOARD shall also make available annual financial reports and audits, a register of employees to include experience and placement on the salary schedule along with gross pay, tentative budgetary requirements and allocations, treasurer’s reports, bill listings, census and pupil data when such information has or should have been made a matter of public record.

2.8 Dues Deduction

A. The Board shall deduct from each employee's pay the current dues of the Association in eighteen (18) equal installments commencing with the first paycheck in September. The Association president shall also identify the local Association treasurer for the monthly remittance.

B. Proper authorization for membership payroll deductions shall be the signature of the employee on an authorization form prepared by the Association and submitted to the superintendent or his/her designee. Such authorization shall remain effective from year to year unless the employee cancels such authorization by notice in writing to the superintendent and the Association prior to September 1st of any school year, to be effective for such year.

C. If an employee resigns at any time during the school year, the Board shall deduct the unpaid prorata portion of the annual dues from the employee's final paycheck.

2.9 Employee Orientation

The process shall include an orientation to Board policies, Association contract with the Board, the evaluation process, and support services. The superintendent will provide the Association with thirty (30) minutes in the first scheduled in-service program for orientation of new employees regarding the contract and the Association. This 30-minute period shall be placed on the written agenda of said in-service program.

The Board and the Association shall develop and implement an in-house mentoring program to supplement the existing formal mentoring program for new District employees (and transferred employees at their request). The purpose of this program will be to provide the new employee during his/her first year of employment with day-to-day support from a tenured teacher (with similar duties if possible) for the purposes of orientation and professional development. The administration and the Association shall collaborate in finding a volunteer mentor. Efforts will be made by the administration to provide the mentor with appropriate time and resources to fulfill his/her responsibility.

2.10 Employee Evaluation

Employee evaluations will be done in accord with Article 24A of The School Code of Illinois, ISBE Rules and Regulations, and the District’s Evaluation Plan.

Following an observation, if the principal believes an employee has a significant deficiency, he/she shall notify the employee within fifteen (15) work days of the observation in writing in specific terms of deficits he/she observes, as well as specific suggestions as to how the teacher can remedy those deficits. The employee shall have at least twenty (20) work days following this written notice in which to attempt to eliminate or reverse the deficits noted in the observation. Following this period, the principal shall observe the teacher once more before completing the final written evaluation.

Videotaping of instruction shall be done only with the permission of the teacher and the resulting tapes shall be used for self improvement and/or improvement of instruction and shall not be used for disciplinary or dismissal proceedings.

The parties agree that the grievance procedure set forth in this collective bargaining agreement shall apply only to the procedural safeguards set forth in the evaluation plan which is a part of this collective bargaining agreement and that the grievance procedure shall not apply to the content of the evaluations actually conducted by the administration.

An Evaluation Committee shall be established consisting of the superintendent, three building principals, Association president, and three teachers chosen by the Association. The Evaluation Committee shall be responsible for the following:

A. Monitoring on a continuing basis the evaluation form and procedure to assure reliability and validity.

B. Reviewing and revising the instrument and procedures used to assess standards of satisfactory performance, and submitting any changes agreed upon by a majority of the committee to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

Deduction for investments or payment to be sent to the IEA/NEA Educator's Credit Union shall be granted upon written authorization by the employee. The authorization form shall contain the individual's account number(s), the amount to be deducted each pay period, the beginning and ending dates for the deduction, address to which the deduction is to be sent, and the signature of the employee authorizing such deduction. Credit union deduction changes may be made within one (1) month of the first day of employment; within one (1) month of the first day of school; and/or within one (1) month of the first day of the second semester.

2.12 School Board Policy

Formal policies of the BOARD shall be set forth in a Policy Manual. All employees shall have access to the Policy Manual. Each attendance center shall have a Policy Manual located in the library for the use of all employees. The President of the ASSOCIATION shall be provided with a copy of said Policy Manual, which shall be turned over to each succeeding President of the ASSOCIATION. Another copy of the Policy Manual shall be available for use by the President of the Association and permanently kept in the administration office for said purpose. When changes are made to the Policy Manual, the BOARD shall be responsible for ensuring all copies of the Policy Manual within its control are updated.

2.13 Selection of Teacher Aides*

Each teacher shall be involved in the screening of the teacher aide applicants for their classroom by his/her building principal. During this screening process, the principal shall provide a written job description of teacher aide duties/responsibilities to all participants. The BOARD shall, based on its statutory authority, make the final hiring decision concerning teacher aides.

*Part-time employees are excluded from Section 2.13.

2.14 Exit Criteria Review Committee

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2.15 School Calendar*

The superintendent shall submit for discussion the proposed school calendar to the Association president prior to its submission to the Board for adoption. Except in the case of an emergency, the school calendar shall provide that the first semester will end on the last student attendance day prior to Christmas vacation and grades for said semester will be due no sooner than the third (3rd) work day following the end of said vacation.

*Part-time employees are excluded from Section 2.15.

2.16 Experimental Programs*

The planning, implementation and evaluation of all experimental educational programs of the school district shall include the active involvement of Association-appointed employees.

*Part-time employees are excluded from Section 2.16.

2.17 Pupil Discipline

Student discipline is a joint responsibility of the BOARD, the administration, and the employee. The employee has the primary responsibility for maintenance of discipline within the classroom. The BOARD, through its administration, has the primary responsibility for maintaining discipline in the district and providing all reasonable assistance to the teacher in maintaining classroom control and discipline,

The District shall maintain a discipline policy which includes a Code of Conduct with progressive penalties for violation of said code.

TEACHER-PARENT/STUDENT CONFERENCES: The administration shall be sensitive to the possible volatility of disciplinary conferences and shall make every effort to ensure that employees are not subjected to verbal and/or physical abuse during said conferences.

EXCLUSION OF STUDENT FROM CLASS: A student sent to the office for disciplinary reasons shall be readmitted to that class when the teacher receives written notification of the action taken.

2.18 Interruption of Instruction

School personnel shall make every effort to avoid unnecessary interruption of the classroom instructional program. Parents/visitors shall not be allowed to go to individual classrooms unannounced or unescorted.

Classroom visitations (for observation purposes only) shall be allowed on a scheduled basis following prior consultation with the classroom teacher. Parent-teacher conferences shall be scheduled before school, after school, or during planning time so as not to interrupt the regular instructional program.

Except under emergency circumstances, office initiated communications over the intercom shall be restricted to three times a day – the first five minutes of the morning, the five minutes immediately preceding the first lunch, and the last five (5) minutes of the afternoon.

2.19 Rules and Regulations Governing Employees

Rules and regulations governing the conduct of employees shall be reasonable, and enforcement of discipline on tenured employees shall be fair and exercised for just cause.

2.20 Grades

Teachers shall maintain the right and responsibility to determine grades and other evaluations of students, and no grades or evaluations shall be changed without the teacher's authorization. All grades given to students shall reflect the following:
A. Student's individual academic status.
B. Documentation and justification by the teacher.
C. Within the framework of Board Policy.

No Board member or administrator shall exert any influence upon a teacher to change the grade of a student if the above guidelines are met.

2.21 Requisition Policy

Each employee shall be given the opportunity to submit requisitions for materials and supplies for the following school term. The employee making the requisition shall be informed prior to August 1st if these supplies are not approved or are being held pending financial consideration. Employees new to the District shall be instructed concerning the requisition procedures at the time of employment, or during the pre-school orientation.

Sub-contracting of bargaining unit positions and/or responsibilities must first be bargained with the Association.

2.23 Petty Cash - Employees

Each employee shall be reimbursed up to $100 per school year for purchase of consumable materials provided that requests for reimbursement are accompanied by a sales receipt.