All instructional aides
All non-instructional aides
Bus Drivers

1. A "grievance" is a claim by an employee or the Association based upon the interpretation, application or alleged violation of this Agreement, or Board policies or administrative decisions affecting the terms and conditions of employment of an employee or group of employees.

2. Non-tenured employees shall not be permitted to grieve their non-re-employment.

3. "Work days" are defined as days on which the grievant is scheduled to work.

The purpose of this procedure is to provide the means by which grievances can be appealed and resolved at the earliest level. Proceedings will be kept as informal and confidential as possible.

1. A grievance to be considered under this procedure must be submitted, in writing, to the immediate supervisor by the employee or the Association within twenty (20) work days of its known occurrence. Failure to do so shall be deemed to constitute an abandonment of the grievance. The written grievance shall include the nature of the grievance and the remedy sought.

2. Within five (5) work days after receipt of the written grievance, the immediate supervisor shall give the employee the opportunity to discuss the grievance either directly or through the Association's designated representative with the objective of resolving the matter informally. Within five (5) workdays after that discussion, the immediate supervisor shall issue a written memorandum to the grievant setting forth his/her determination.

3. If a satisfactory settlement is not reached at the informal level herein above set forth, or if no decision has been rendered within five (5) work days after presentation of the grievance, the employee or the Association may present the grievance in writing within five (5) work days after the determination made in Paragraph C.2 above, to the Superintendent of Schools. The written grievance shall set forth:

a. The nature of the grievance and the remedy requested.

c. The basis of dissatisfaction with the prior determination.

4. The Superintendent's written decision shall be rendered to the employee and the Association within ten (10) work days after receipt of the written grievance by the Superintendent.

5. If the grievance is not satisfactorily disposed of by the Superintendent, or if no decision has been rendered within the time limit set forth, then the grievance may be referred by the individual or the Association to the Board within ten (10) work days of the completion of the proceedings described in C.4 above, or twenty (20) work days after the grievance was delivered to the Superintendent, whichever comes first. The submission to the Board shall be in writing and shall include copies of all relevant documents previously considered in the grievance procedure together with a statement explaining the dissatisfaction with those decisions previously rendered. The Board shall, in writing, within thirty (30) days, advise the Association and the employee of its determination and shall forward a copy thereof to both the Superintendent and the immediate supervisor of the aggrieved employee.

6. The stipulated times referred to in C.1 through C.5 above shall be considered as outer limits to be strictly followed, except where extenuating circumstances occur, in which case the time limits specified may be extended upon the mutual consent of the parties.

a. In the event the disposition made in the preceding step is deemed unsatisfactory or if no decision has been rendered within the time limit set forth above and in the event the grievance involves an alleged violation of this Agreement, the Association may request the Public Employment Relations Commission to process the grievance in accordance with its rules and regulations for the selection of an arbitrator. Such request must be made within fifteen (15) calendar days of the Board's decision or forty-five (45) working days after the grievance was delivered to the Board, whichever comes first.

b. Grievances which concern the interpretation, application or alleged violation of Board policies and administrative decisions or of statutes and regulations are not arbitrable.

c. The arbitrator shall submit his/her determination on the issue submitted to him/her and shall rule on nothing else. His/her determination, binding in nature, shall be limited strictly to the application or interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement, and he/she shall be without power or authority to make any determination contrary to or inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement. The arbitrator may not alter, add to or omit from the provisions of this Agreement.

d. The arbitrator’s decision shall be in writing and shall be submitted within thirty (30) calendar days of the close of the hearing.

e. Each party will assume the total cost incurred by itself. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator are the only cost which shall be shared equally.

1. Group Grievance

If, in the judgment of the Association, a grievance affects a group or class of employees, the Association may process such grievance through all levels of the grievance procedure even though the employee does not wish to do so.

2. Separate Grievance File

All documents, communications and records dealing with the processing of a grievance shall be filed in a separate grievance file and shall not be kept in the personnel file of any of the employees.

3. Continuation of Assignments

Any and all employee grievants shall, during and not withstanding the pendency of any grievance, continue to observe all assignments and applicable rules and regulations of the Board until such grievance and any effect thereof shall have been fully determined.

4. Failure to follow the timelines set forth herein shall constitute an abandonment of the grievance by the grievant.

5. Meetings and Hearings

D. Association Responsibilities
1. The Association shall be responsible for acquainting its members with all provisions of this Agreement and shall make best efforts for adherence to the provisions of this Agreement by its members during the life of this Agreement.

2. At the beginning of each year, the Association shall furnish to the Superintendent a listing of its officers, and updates regarding any changes that occur during the school year.

E. Access to Information
In response to a reasonable request, the Association shall at the sole expense of the Association be granted access to the following information: class size, number of employee specialists, public budget information, annual financial audits, listing of professional staff, agendas and minutes of all public Board meetings, group employee health insurance premiums and experience figures, names and addresses of all employees. The use of such information is limited to assisting the Association for collective negotiations and grievance purposes only.

B. All ten (10) month employees may be scheduled to work according to the school calendar. Any ten (10) month employee required to work beyond the regular school year shall be paid at their appropriate per diem or hourly rate unless such hours are beyond their regular day or fall on a holiday, Saturday, or Sunday. In that case the rate of pay shall be in accordance with Article X.

B. The regular workday for bus drivers shall be no more than eight (8) hours per day and the schedule shall be determined by the administration.

C. All full-time instructional and non-instructional aides shall have a daily duty-free lunch period equal to the length of the students lunch period at the particular school and may leave the building during this time.

D. All full-time instructional aides and non-instructional aides, excluding bus aides, shall have a ten (10) minute break in the AM or PM assuming adequate coverage is provided.

E. In the event of an unscheduled student dismissal, instructional aides not employed in any other capacity shall be allowed to leave immediately after such dismissal.

F. In the event the normal opening of school is delayed for pupils because of an emergency, inclement weather, or other reason, instructional aides not employed in any other capacity will not be required to report more than fifteen (15) minutes before pupils.

B. Each employee must work one-half of their work year to receive one year’s credit toward their next salary increment. “Work” shall include sick days, paid personal leave, and any other day when compensation is provided.

C. Each employee shall be placed on his/her proper step of the appropriate salary schedule at the beginning of the work year.

D. On or before May 30th of each year, the Board shall provide to each employee either:

1. A written offer of a contract for employment for the next succeeding year providing for, except in the case of a reduction in force, the terms and conditions of employment, but with such increases in salary and benefits as may be required by law or as set forth in the agreement between the Board and the Association;

— or —

2. A written notice that such employment shall not be offered.

3. Any employee who receives a notice of non-employment may, within 10 days thereafter, in writing, request, from the Superintendent, a statement of reasons for such non-employment. Said statement shall be given to the employee in writing within 30 days of the receipt of such request.

B. A seniority list shall be provided to the Association by November 1 or at the time of a contemplated Reduction in Force (RIF).

C. Any reduction of positions shall be accomplished in the following manner:

1. Employees shall exercise their total employment seniority to replace a less senior employee in the same job category.

2. In the event that a vacancy occurs, a laid-off instructional or non-instructional aides or bus driver shall be entitled to recall thereto in the order of his/her job category seniority provided such vacancy occurs within 12 months of the lay-off.

3. Notice of recall to work shall be addressed to the employee’s last known address appearing on the records of the school district, by certified mail, return receipt requested. Within seven (7) workdays from receipt of such notice of recall, the employee shall notify the Board of Education, in writing, whether or not he/she desires to return to the work involved in the recall. If he/she fails to reply, or if he/she indicates that he/she does not desire to return to such work, he/she shall forfeit all of his/her seniority and all rights to recall.

4. Any job offerings not within the same job, shift, hours, and days category of work may be offered to the individual, but shall not effect his/her status on the recall list.

D. Seniority shall not be accumulated during the period of layoff. Upon recall, instructional and non-instructional aides and bus drivers shall have their accumulated seniority restored to the date of layoff.

E. Recalled employees shall have all benefits restored including but not limited to vacation eligibility, step on guide, etc.

F. All notices for job opportunities within the negotiating unit shall be posted in all work locations on the Association bulletin board at least seven (7) days before the closing date for applications. A copy of each such notice shall be sent to the Association.

G. An employee shall only lose school district seniority if he/she resigns or is discharged for cause, irrespective of whether he/she is subsequently rehired by the school district.

B. Employees who work on Sundays or holidays shall be paid time and one-half their hourly salary.

C. Instructional and non-instructional aides shall not be required to serve as the school nurse.

D. Instructional and non-instructional aides who are required to perform chaperone duty at extracurricular activities shall be paid at the same rate as teachers who perform chaperone duty.

E. Any full-time instructional and non-instructional aides shall receive a full day’s pay when they are required to work at least one-half of their particular workday and are then required to leave school because of an emergency school closing.

F. As permitted by law, instructional and non-instructional aides who hold substitute or teacher certification shall be eligible for appointment as substitute teachers at the Board-approved rate of pay or the aide salary, whichever is higher, for the day of the assignment as a substitute should a regular substitute be unavailable for class. The Superintendent shall make such determination or designee and the staff member shall serve wherever required.

G. All expenses normally incurred for a field trip (i.e., lodgings, tolls, gas, etc.) will be provided to the bus driver prior to the start of the trip.

B. Notice of an involuntary transfer or reassignment shall be given to employees as soon as is practical, and except in cases of emergency, not later the close of schools in June.

C. In the event that an employee objects to the transfer or reassignment, upon the request of the employee, the Superintendent shall meet with him/her. The employee may have an Association Representative(s) present at such meeting.

D. A list of open positions in the district shall be made available to all employees being involuntarily transferred or reassigned. Said employees may request the positions, in order of preference, to which they desire to be transferred. The Superintendent is not required to honor such request and the decision of the Superintendent shall be final.

B. Within two (2) days of each observation, the instructional aide shall receive a written report, and within five (5) days shall have a conference with the author of the report. Each observation cycle shall be completed before another cycle begins.

C. Annually, each employee shall receive a written evaluation two (2) days prior to a meeting with his/her supervisor to review the content of the evaluation.

D. Each employee shall have the right to attach a written statement of rebuttal to all written evaluations.

E. All monitoring or observation of the work performance of an employee shall be conducted openly and with full knowledge of the employee.

F. An employee shall be given a copy of any visit, observation, or evaluation report prepared by his/her evaluator(s) two (2) days before any conference. No report shall be submitted to the central office, placed in the employee’s file, or otherwise acted upon without prior conference with the employee. No employee shall be required to sign a blank or incomplete evaluation form.

B. A notice shall be posted at each worksite, as far in advance as practicable, but no less than seven (7) workdays before the final date when applications must be submitted. A copy of said notice shall be given to the Association at the time of posting. Employees who desire to apply for such vacancies shall submit their applications in writing to the Superintendent within the time limit specified in the notice, and the Superintendent shall acknowledge promptly in writing the receipt of all such applications.

C. Employees who desire to apply for a vacancy which may be filled during the summer vacation period shall submit their names and addresses where they can be reached during the summer to the Superintendent, together with the position(s) to which they desire to apply. The Superintendent shall notify such employees of any vacancies or new positions. Such notice shall be sent as far in advance as practicable, but no less than seven (7) days before the final date when applications must be submitted.

B. All unused sick leave days shall be accumulated from year to year with no maximum limit.

C. Quarantine in Case of Contagious Diseases

1. When such quarantine is not because of personal illness, the employee shall be allowed full pay, providing the certificate is filed with the Superintendent.

2. When the quarantine is because of personal illness, Section “A” shall apply.

D. Upon request an employee shall be given a written accounting of accumulated sick leave.

E. Upon completion of twenty-five years of service with the Springfield Board of Education, 150 accumulated sick days and submission for retirement to the Public Employment Retirement System, an employee shall be compensated at the rate of $15 per day for all unused accumulated sick leave to a maximum of $2000.

F. In the event of the death of an employee, payment for all accumulated days as stated above shall be paid to his/her estate within thirty (30) days of employee’s death.

1. Up to five (5) shall be granted in the event of serious illness of an employee’s immediate family members, living in the employee’s immediate household and any other member of the immediate household. For absence due to serious illness of a child who is not living in the household of the employee, full pay for not more than three (3) days in each school year. Days needed for this purpose will be deducted from the accumulated sick leave allowance. If there is no such accumulation of sick leave, such pay shall be subject to the deduction of salary paid a substitute.

2. Time off with pay shall be granted for appearances in any legal proceeding connected with the individual’s employment or with the school system..

3. Up to five (5) days shall be granted in the event of the death of immediate family members (spouse, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent, father in-law, mother-in-law, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law) and any other member of the immediate household. Absences due to death of any other family member will be permitted with full pay for the day of the funeral.

C. Employees who are called to jury duty shall first attempt to have such service postponed until school is not in session. If the request is not granted the employee shall receive full pay subject to a salary deduction equivalent to Jury Duty pay for all time served on jury duty.

2. The Association and Board will mutually investigate prospective carriers to ensure that the coverage is equal to or greater than that provided. In the event that more than one carrier is identified, the Board reserves the right to select the carrier.

C. Prescription
During the life of this Agreement, employees employed for thirty (30) hourswill not have to pay for such prescription coverage for employees only. The Board does, however, reserve the right to select or coverage. The Board shall provide change the insurance carrier with it being understood and agreed that the benefit protection thereunder shall be equal to or greater than that provided prior to any such change. In no event shall the Board's contribution be greater than $168,958 for 2003-2004, $176,224 for 2005-2006 and $184,154 for 2006-2007. Increases in premium cost above the $168,958, $176,224 and $184,154 set forth above will be paid for by either modifying the co-payments or through any other mutually agreeable plan. During the term of this Agreement, the co-pay for prescriptions shall be $15 for generic drugs and $35 for brand name drugs except as stated above.

1. The Board agrees to make available in the district and to provide the bookkeeping necessary for both a tax shelter annuity program (as described in Section 403 (b) of the Internal Revenue Code) and a U.S. Savings Bond purchase program.


2. The Board shall remit a check at the end of each pay period to the tax shelter annuity company as designated by an employee or to the bank for U.S. Savings Bond purchases.

3. The Board's only responsibility in this matter is to honor the written request of the individual employees to participate in the plans and remit the money as outlined above.

4. The Board and the Association agree that the tax shelter annuity companies that are now available in the district shall continue and that companies shall not be added or deleted without mutual agreement. The parties also agree that there shall be one bank designated by the Association for the purchase of savings bonds.

If an employee does not become a member of the Association during any membership year (i.e., from September 1 to the following August 31) which is covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, said employee will be required to pay a representation fee to the Association for that membership year. This fee shall be the maximum allowed by law.

1. Notification

a. Prior to the beginning of each membership year, the Association will notify the Board in writing of the amount of the representation fee to be paid by non-members.

b. Prior to November of each year, the Association will submit to the Board a list of those employees who have neither become members of the Association for the then current membership year nor paid directly to the Association the full amount of the representation fee for that membership year. The Board will deduct from the salaries of such employees, in accordance with paragraph c. below, the full amount of the representation fee and promptly will transmit the amount so deducted to the Association.

c. The Board will deduct the representation fee in equal installments, as nearly as possible, from the paychecks paid to each employee on the aforesaid list during the remainder of the membership year in question.

d. The deductions will begin with the first paycheck paid:

. 2 Termination

If an employee who is required to pay a representation fee terminates his/her employment with the Board before the Association has received the full amount of the representation fee to which it is entitled under this Article, the Board will deduct the unpaid portion of the fee from the last paycheck paid to said employee during the membership year in question.

3. Mechanics of Deducting and Transmission of Fees

Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the mechanics for the deduction of representation fees and the transmission of such fees to the Association will, as nearly as possible, be the same as those used for the deduction and transmission of regular membership dues to the Association.

1. Liability

The Association agrees to indemnify and hold the Board harmless against any liability which may arise by reason of any action taken by the Board in complying with the provisions of this Article, provided that:

a. the Board gives the Association timely notice in writing of any claim, demand, suit or other form of liability in regard to which it will seek to implement this paragraph, and

b. if the Association so requests in writing, the Board will cooperate with the Association in the defense of the claim.

2. Exception

C. Copies of this Agreement shall be printed at the expense of the Board within sixty (60) days after the Agreement is signed. The Agreement shall be presented to all employees now employed, hereafter employed, or considered for employment by the Board.

D. Whenever any notice is required to be given by either of the parties of this Agreement to the other, pursuant to the provision(s) of this Agreement, either party shall do so in writing to the following addresses:

• If by Association, to Board at __________________________________________

(address) ___________________________________________________________

• If by Board, to Association at___________________________________________

(address) ___________________________

0 – 3 years $13.25 per hr. $13.75 per hr $14.30 per hr.

4 – 6 years $13.55 per hr. $14.10 per hr. $14.70 per hr.

7+ years $13.85 per hr. $14.45 per hr. $15.10 per hr.