Staffing Cuts Grievance Settlement 2015

SDEA has settled a class-action grievance regarding the District’s violations of our transfer rights and shared decision-making rights through their staffing process for the 2014-15 school year. When the District directed every school to eliminate one position last June, it violated many sections of the transfer timeline, and also took away Site Governance Teams’ rights to go through shared decision-making in early spring before eliminating a bargaining unit position (for example, the ELSTs at many schools). Those violations continued this fall, when even more schools were instructed to cut their ELSTs.

This grievance settlement sets a strong precedent defending our shared decision-making and transfer rights. Highlights of the grievance settlement include:

• The District agrees that budget-based position eliminations, and eliminations of all non-classroom positions, must go through shared decision-making through the SGT by the contractual deadline of Feb. 1 (or as close as possible for categorically funded positions).
• For position eliminations impacting 2015-16, SDEA and the District have extended the Feb. 1 deadline for this year only through the end of the site-based budgeting process (projected for March 13, but no later than March 31). The process must occur prior to Oct. 31, 2015 for any potential fall excessing.
• Members who did not receive three workdays notice of excessing last year will receive compensation for the packing and moving they did on their own time.
• Members who had bids cancelled on the Post and Bid, and did not find a position through the Post and Bid, will receive an additional priority consideration bid this year.
• One member who was not allowed to exercise recency of experience to remain at the site and should not have been transferred will receive and additional priority consideration through 2016-17.

See below for the list of members who are entitled to each remedy:

• Members to Receive Pay — Late Excessing
• Members to Receive Priority Consideration — Canceled Bids and No Placement
• Member to Recieve Priority Consideration — No Recency of Experience

If you have any questions, please call the SDEA office at 619-283-4411 to speak to a Contract Specialist.