ARTICLE I – RECOGNITION 5

ARTICLE II – NEGOTIATION OF SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT 6

ARTICLE III – GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 7

ARTICLE IV – RIGHTS 10

TEACHER RIGHTS 10
BOARD RIGHTS 11

ARTICLE VI – TEACHER WORK YEAR 14

ARTICLE VII – TEACHING HOURS AND TEACHING LOAD 15

Teacher Day 15
Elementary Teaching Load 15
Lunch Periods 16
Double/Wave Sessions 16
Field Trips 17
Evening Meetings 17
Faculty Meetings 18

ARTICLE VIII – SPECIALISTS 19

ARTICLE IX – NON-TEACHING DUTIES 20

ARTICLE X – TEACHER EMPLOYMENT 21

ARTICLE XI – SALARIES AND BENEFITS 22

Salary Schedule 22
Method of Payment 22
Extracurricular Activities 22
Professional Assignments 23
Fringe Benefits 23
Travel Expenses 24
Retirement 24
Teacher Academy 25
Benefit Entitlement 25

ARTICLE XIII – VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS AND REASSIGNMENTS 27

ARTICLE XIV – SUMMER SCHOOL PROGRAM 28

ARTICLE XV – TEACHER OBSERVATION/EVALUATION 29

Non-tenure Teachers 29
Tenured Teachers 29
General Criteria 30
Personnel (File) Records 30

ARTICLE XVII – TEACHER FACILITIES 33

ARTICLE XVIII – PROMOTIONS 34

ARTICLE XIX – RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING LEAVES OF ABSENCE, ILLNESS, OTHER REASONS 35

Sick Leave 35
Leaves of Absence 36
Other Reasons 37

ARTICLE XXI – UNDERSTANDING OF THE PARTIES 40

ARTICLE XXII – DURATION OF AGREEMENT 41

APPENDIX I -- SALARY GUIDES……………………………….......................................................42 to 44

The Board hereby recognizes the Association as the exclusive and sole representative for collective negotiations concerning grievances and terms and conditions of employment for all teachers, whether under contract, or on leave.

Excluded are the following:

Superintendent
Principal
Assistant Principal
Substitute Teachers
Home Instruction
Supervisor of Special Education
Supervisor of Curriculum
Doctor
Dentist
Business Administrator/Board Secretary
All Supervisory Personnel
Social Worker - Non-certificated

Unless otherwise indicated, the term "teacher" when used hereinafter in this Agreement, shall refer to all full-time and part-time professional employees under contract represented by the Association in the negotiating unit as above defined. References to male teachers shall include female teachers, and references to female teachers shall include male teachers.

The parties agree to enter into collective negotiation over a successor Agreement in accordance with Public Employer-Employee Relations Act in a good-faith effort to reach agreement on all matters concerning the terms and conditions of teachers' employment. Any Agreement so negotiated shall apply to all teachers, be reduced to writing, be signed by the Board and the Association, and be adopted by the Board.

This Agreement shall not be modified in whole or in part by the parties except by an instrument in writing duly executed by both parties.

In the event of the Public Employment Relations Commission or other public body having appropriate jurisdiction establishing a mandatory timetable for such negotiations, the parties agree to be bound by said timetable, anything contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding.

(a) The specific provision(s) of this agreement, Board policy(ies) or administrative decision(s) which give rise to the grievance.
(b) The date the alleged grievance occurred.

Administrator shall set a day for a hearing which shall be within 10 school days from the receipt of the written grievance unless a different period is mutually agreed upon.

Nothing contained herein shall be construed to deny or restrict to any teacher such rights as he may have under New Jersey School Laws, or other applicable laws and regulations.

No teacher shall be disciplined or reprimanded without just cause. Any such action asserted by the Board, or any agent or representative thereof, shall be subject to the grievance procedure herein set forth.

No teacher shall be deprived of pay without the Board's formal suspension, except that the withholding of an increment shall be pursuant to statute.

Any question or criticism by the Administrator, or Board Member of a teacher and his instructional methodology shall be made in confidence and not in the presence of students, parents, or other public gatherings unless the teacher chooses to make such questions or criticisms public.

No teacher shall be prevented from wearing standard, or conventional pins, or other identification of membership in the Associations, or its affiliates.

The Board agrees to furnish to the Association, in response to reasonable request, available and non-confidential information concerning the financial, educational and personnel resources of the school district as reasonably needed to negotiate, investigate, or process grievances on behalf of its members or other materials that affect terms and conditions of employment. Such requests shall be submitted to the Superintendent in writing on the appropriate form.

Whenever any representative of the Association or any teacher participates during working hours in negotiations, grievance proceedings or conferences, or meetings, he shall suffer no loss in pay provided they are called by the Administrator or the Board of Education.

The Association and its representatives shall have the privilege to use school buildings at all reasonable hours for meetings when not in conflict with previous commitments. Prior approval from the Administrator is required for use of building/facilities which shall not be unreasonably withheld.

The Association shall have the privilege to use school facilities and equipment, including copy machines, computers and assorted technology, and all types of audiovisual equipment at reasonable times, when such equipment is not otherwise in use. The Association shall furnish all materials and supplies incident to such use, and any repairs necessitated as a result thereof.

The Association shall have the exclusive use of a bulletin board in the faculty lounge.

All orientation programs for new teachers shall be planned by the Board and the Association.

The Association is granted the privilege to use the inter-school district mail facilities, e-mail and school mailboxes as it deems necessary with the approval of the Administrator, and consistent with Board policy.

Prior to the first week of school, teachers shall have access to their rooms for extended hours for the purpose of room setup and preparation. The Administration shall notify teachers of accessible hours and days.

(a) Check-in Procedure
Teachers shall indicate their presence for duty by initialing in the appropriate column of the faculty "sign-in" roster, or when leaving the premises.

(b) Teacher Work Day
A teacher is required to be at his work station at the beginning of the workday, which shall not exceed seven (7) hours, in which shall be included all pupil contact time as provided in Paragraph 7.02 of this Article and the duty-free lunch period provided in Paragraph 7.03. Allocation of this time shall be at the discretion of the Administrator, subject to Board approval.

(c) Early Departure
Teachers shall on Fridays and on days immediately preceding a school holiday or vacation, leave as soon as the last student bus departs. The last teacher day in the school calendar is not interpreted as a day immediately preceding a holiday or vacation. As has been the practice in the District, teachers shall remain in school for the purpose of closing out their records, turning in their keys, etc.

(a) The daily teaching load in the elementary school shall not exceed:

(b) All teachers shall, in addition to their lunch period, have five preparation periods per week during which they shall not be assigned to any other duties. The total weekly preparation time shall be equal for all teachers. No teacher shall leave the building during the preparation period without prior approval of the building principal.

a. Teachers shall be scheduled for preparation periods over a five (5) day school week totaling at least 200 minutes per week. If on split sessions, the total weekly preparation time shall be 150 minutes.

6) The District may utilize up to twenty (20) of each teacher's preparation periods each year for the purpose of promulgating State Department of Education objectives, for curriculum work, for administrative meetings related to teaching assignment(s) and/or for the purpose of conducting post observation conferences.

(a) Grade Level and Other
Teachers shall have a daily duty-free lunch period of forty-five (45) minutes.

(b) On days when students only are dismissed early and lunch served, all teachers shall have a total of 60 minutes for their duty free lunch. The 60 minutes may not be consecutive.

(c) If the teacher returns from a field trip, after the regularly scheduled lunch period, the teacher may not be able to receive either all or part of their duty free lunch.

In the event that all or part of the school is on double or wave sessions, the work day for all teachers shall not exceed six (6) hours, and the daily teaching load shall not exceed five (5) hours of pupil contact.

Field trips shall be scheduled and implemented in a manner which shall be mutually agreed upon by the teachers participating in them. Written permission for field trips shall be obtained from the Administrator to guarantee insurance coverage as a school sponsored activity.

The expressed purposes of district sponsored evening meetings are:

Teachers shall be required to attend four (4) evening meetings or assignments each school year without additional compensation. Additional meetings and/or assignments shall be compensated at the current hourly rate (as per 11.03) or through the award of compensatory time. Such required evening meetings may include one Back to School experience along with a combination of Parent/Teacher Conference evenings, programs, and performances totaling three (3) evenings. These shall be designated as follows:

Members of the following groups may opt for conference participation or may substitute one or more approved district sponsored events for their annual conference obligation: Teachers of Basic Skills and/or Special Education, Child Study Team Members, and Special Area Teachers (including Nurses.) Proposals for alternative programs must be submitted to the building administrator for approval.

(a) Teachers shall be available for up to one (1) Superintendent/Principal called faculty meetings per month of up to one (1) hour duration, computed from the time the last student bus leaves.

(b) No faculty meeting shall be held on a Friday or before a school holiday or vacation.

(a) The LEHTEA and the Superintendent or designee will meet prior to the upcoming school year to discuss proposals regarding the reorganization of daily schedules in each building. These discussions will include the exploration of current proposals as well as additional proposals aimed at providing adequate articulation time for staff within the current school day. A determination may be made at this time regarding one or more proposals to be implemented for the upcoming school year.

(b) Prior to February 1 of each school year, the representatives of the LEHTEA, the Superintendent or designee, and the Board of Education will meet to discuss the effectiveness of the implemented schedule modifications. At this time consideration will be given to the potential impact of altering contractual language governing mandated prep periods as well as to the implementation of periodic early dismissal schedules.

1) The Board agrees that wherever possible standardized tests be machine scored.

(a) Adjustment to Salary Schedule
Each teacher shall be placed on his proper step of the salary schedule as of the beginning of each school year in accordance with Paragraph 10.01(b)(2) below. Any teacher employed prior to February l of any school year shall be given full credit for one (1) year of service toward the next increment step for the following year.

(b) Initial Placement on Salary Guide

3) In addition,

(a) Speech Therapists shall be eligible for 100% tuition reimbursement under Article 11.05 (d) for graduate credits earned toward their permanent certification.

(b) Any Speech Therapist who receives such tuition reimbursement shall sign an agreement with the district to work in the district for three (3) years following the receipt of any tuition payments.

(c) Speech Therapists shall receive an additional stipend of $500 per year.

The 2003-2004, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 salary guides are attached in APPENDIX I.

(a) Ten (10) Month
Each teacher employed on a ten (10) month basis shall be paid every other Friday, beginning on the first Friday of each school year. Effective in 2004-05, the payroll schedule shall be changed to two (2) times per month on the 15th and 30th.

(b) Final Pay
Each Teacher shall receive his final pay and the pay schedule for the following year on his last working day in June when, and if, final check-out list has been approved.

(c) Twelve (12) Month
Teachers may have the option of being paid every other Friday over a period of twelve (12) months. Effective in 2004-05, the payroll schedule shall be changed to two (2) times per month on the 15th and 30th.

Establishment and supervision of an after school club or sporting activity shall be at the discretion of the Superintendent with Board approval.

Any teacher desirous of applying to establish a regularly scheduled weekly club or sporting activity shall do so by November 30th of the previous school year on the appropriate form.

Only teachers who volunteer for such after school or summer curriculum work shall be so assigned.

Teachers shall be compensated according to the following schedule:

$26.00 per hour – 2003-2004
$27.00 per hour – 2004-2005
$29.00 per hour – 2005-2006

These are assignments which involve the teaching of children and include the activities of planning, teaching and evaluation.

Included are the following activities:

Summer Academy, School-year All-Stars, Special Education Extended Year program, Homebound Instruction, Tutoring, and Summer Orientation.

Compensation:

(a) For all professional staff the Board of Education will assume 100% of the costs of insurance premiums for extended coverage under the State Health Benefits Plan, or equivalent, including major medical or the equivalent and Prescription Plan. Part-time teachers would be provided with medical benefits at the “family rate” prorated. The Board reserves the right to elect to switch health and/or prescription card insurance. Second Opinion required for surgery.

(b) During the term of this Agreement, the Board of Education shall continue to provide teachers with dental insurance under Horizon Dental, or equivalent. The Board of Education will assume 100% of the cost of the Prudential Base Plan, or equivalent.

(c) Tuition Reimbursement - The Board will reimburse a portion of the tuition for graduate courses according to the following schedule up to an annual limit of $32,000 for the year 2003-04, $33,000 for the year 2004-05, $34,000 for the year 2005-2006. All reimbursable graduate courses shall be subject to the approval of the Superintendent. Courses will be limited to those which are directly applicable to employment in the district and in which at least a B average is maintained. Approval of the Board is required prior to registration for said graduate courses. Courses which are a part of an approved Master’s program will be automatically approved once the degree program has received approval from the Superintendent.

Distribution Schedule

If the Administrator sends a teacher, or teachers on official school business out of the district during or after regular school hours, said teachers should be reimbursed for transportation (if own used) at the current I.R.S. rate per mile, plus tolls, parking, dinner and admission tickets, if required.

A teacher who notifies the Board in writing on or before January 2 of any year, of their intention to retire at the end of that school year, and who actually files a retirement paper with the New Jersey State Retirement System, shall be entitled to receive a Terminal Leave Compensation. Said Terminal Leave Compensation shall be computed as follows: For every two (2) days of accumulated unused sick leave, the teacher shall be paid for one (1) day at the per diem rate in existence in the year of retirement. The maximum accumulation for such purpose shall be two hundred fifty (250) days which will result in a payout equal to one hundred twenty-five (125) days. In order to qualify for Terminal Leave Compensation, the teacher retiring must have at least fifty (50) accumulated unused sick days at the time of his retirement.

A teacher, after notifying the Board of Education Business Office of intention to retire, will indicate a desired distribution schedule for the Terminal Leave Compensation, not to exceed three (3) annual payments. The chosen distribution schedule shall be mutually agreeable to both the superintendent and the prospective retiree. Said payments shall be made on the first pay period following the effective retirement date and then on the annual anniversary date of that pay period for the duration of the agreed upon distribution schedule.

Should the retiree predecease the complete distribution of the Terminal Leave Compensation, the remaining unpaid distribution shall be paid to the deceased’s beneficiary on the earlier of the July 1 immediately following the retiree’s death or the next scheduled annual distribution date.

The Board will sponsor the development and implementation of a local Teacher Academy for the purposes of providing locally sponsored professional growth courses and/or opportunities.

(a) Date for Presently Employed Teachers
So far as possible, all teachers shall be given written notice of their salary schedules and class assignments for the forthcoming year not later than April 30th.

(a) As vacancies become known the Administrator shall notify the Association.

(b) Request to fill vacancies shall be submitted within 7 days of notification. No position shall be filled until all properly submitted applications have been considered. The Board agrees to give due weight to professional background and attainments of all applicants and other relevant factors.

(c) When all factors are substantially equal preference shall be given to qualified teachers already employed by the Board. However, the final decision shall be made by the Administration with the approval of the Board.

Teachers who desire a change in grade assignment may file a written statement of such desire with the Administrator. Such statement shall include the grade to which the teacher desires to be assigned, in order of preference and reasons for request. Such requests for reassignments shall be submitted not later than May 15th.

In filling such positions, consideration shall be given to a teacher's area of competence, major and/or minor field of study, quality of teaching performance, attendance record, and length of service in the Little Egg Harbor Township School District. When all other factors are substantially equal, preference shall be given first to teachers who have taught the subject and/or grade level in question during the regular school year and then to teachers who have taught the grade and /or subject in question on a regular basis at any time during the preceding four (4) years.

(a) Each non-tenure teacher shall be observed and evaluated in the performance of his or her duties at least three (3) times during each school year, but not less than once during each semester, provided that the number of required observations and evaluations may be reduced proportionately when an individual teaching staff member's term of service is less than one academic year. Each evaluation shall be followed by a conference between that teaching staff member and his or her superior or superiors. The purpose of this procedure is to recommend as to reemployment, identify any deficiencies, extend assistance for their correction and improve professional competence.

(b) Any teaching staff member receiving notice that a teaching contract for the succeeding school year will not be offered may, within 15 days thereafter, request in writing a statement of the reasons for such non-employment which shall be given to the teaching staff member in writing within 30 days after receipt of said request.

(c) A non-tenure teacher is subject to at least three (3) observations annually, during which the post observation conference shall be held. Each such conference may cut into twenty-five (25) minutes of preparation time.

Tenured teachers, except those who have been identified as in need of support, will have two options for completion of their professional growth (PIP) plan/classroom observation:

Staff member developed professional improvement plan (PIP), at least one formal classroom observation per year, and an end of the year evaluative report.

Staff member developed professional growth plan and activities (project), no formal classroom observation and an end of the year evaluative report that includes a status report of the work included in the professional growth project. This provision is subject to approval by the NJ Department of Education.

(a) All monitoring or observation of the work performance of a teacher shall be conducted openly and with full knowledge of the teacher. The use of eavesdropping, public address, cameras, audio system, and similar surveillance devices shall be strictly prohibited.

(b) A teacher shall be given a copy of any class visit or evaluation report prepared by the Administrator. No such report shall be placed in the teacher's file, or otherwise acted upon without prior conference with the teacher. No teacher shall be required to sign a blank or incomplete evaluation form.

(c) Any teacher, tenured or non-tenured, may request additional observations, and/or additional or longer post observation conferences without the District being in violation of the contract.

(d) Each teacher is subject to a year end evaluation and the development of a professional improvement plan.

(1) The District shall advise each teacher when, during the course of the school day, such conference can be had.

(2) Each individual teacher may opt to have the professional growth plan conference held during their preparation period instead of any of the times offered by Administration.

(a) File
A teacher shall have the right to indicate those documents and/or other materials in his file which he believes to be obsolete or otherwise inappropriate to retain. Said documents shall be reviewed by the Superintendent and if, in fact, they are otherwise inappropriate or obsolete, they shall be destroyed. Disputes over retention of said documents may be processed in accordance with Title 18A:6-9.

(b) Derogatory Material
No material derogatory to a teacher's conduct, service, character or personality shall be placed in his or her personnel file unless the teacher has had an opportunity to review the material. The teacher shall acknowledge that he or she has had the opportunity to review such material by affixing his or her signature to the copy to be filed with the express understanding that such signature in no way indicates agreement with the contents thereof. The teacher shall also have the right to submit a written answer to such material, and his or her answer shall be reviewed by the Superintendent and attached to the file copy.

(c) No Separate File
Although the Board agrees to protect the confidentiality of personal references, academic credentials and other similar documents, it shall not establish any separate personnel file.

In the event this Agreement is not renewed, an Agreement to continue benefits will be drawn up between the Board and those employees who return to work. This continuance of benefits Agreement would remain in force until such time as a new contract is signed upon.

Whenever any notice is required to be given by either of the parties to this Agreement to the other, pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, either party shall do so by delivery in writing at the following address:

Promotional positions defined as follows:

(a) Positions paying a salary differential and/or positions on the administrator-supervisory levels of responsibility. All vacancies in promotional positions, including specialists, and/or pupil personnel workers and positions in programs funded by the Federal government shall be adequately publicized by the Administrator in accordance with the following procedure: Vacancies shall be forwarded to an Association officer and posted in the faculty rooms of each district building.

(b) When all factors are substantially equal, preference shall be given to qualified teachers already employed by the Board. However, the final decision shall be made by the Administration with the approval of the Board.

(a) Sick Leave, Minimum Allowances, Cumulating Unused Leave
All persons holding any office, position or employment in all school districts, regional school districts or county vocational schools of the State who are steadily employed by the Board of Education, or who are protected in their office, position of employment under the provision of Chapter 28 of Title 18A of the Revised Statutes or under any other law shall be allowed sick leave with full pay for a minimum of ten (10) days and two (2) nonaccumulated days in any school year. If any such person requires in any school year less than this specified number of days of sick leave with pay allowed, all days of such minimum sick leave not utilized that year shall be accumulative to be used for additional sick leave as needed in subsequent years excluding the two (2) non-accumulative days.

(b) Physician's Certificate
In case of sick leave claimed, a Board of Education may require a physician's certificate to be filed with the Secretary of the Board of Education. In the case of sick leave claimed in relation to a pregnancy, there shall be a presumption of disability for the period of four (4) weeks prior to the anticipated date of birth and for the period of four (4) weeks following the birth, during which no physician’s certificate as to disability shall be required, but only as to the dates of anticipated and actual birth. An employee on disability related to pregnancy may specify the number of sick days to be used during this period based on the employee’s accrued sick time. Sick leave claims beyond the presumed periods of pregnancy disability shall be treated like any other claim for sick leave use.

(c) Sick Leave Defined
Sick Leave is hereby defined to mean the absence from his or her post of duty, of any such person because of personal disability due to illness or injury, or because he or she has been excluded from school by the school district's medical authorities on account of contagious disease or of being quarantined for such a disease in his or her immediate household.

(d) Prolonged Absence Beyond Sick Leave Period N.J.S.A. 18A:30-6
"When absence, under the circumstances described in section 18A:30-1 of this article, exceeds the annual sick leave and the accumulated sick leave, the Board of Education may pay any such person each day's salary less the pay of a substitute, if a substitute is employed or the estimated cost of the employment of a substitute if none is employed, for such length of time as may be determined by the Board of Education in each individual case. A day's salary is defined as l/200 of the annual salary.

(e) Salary in cases of absence not constituting sick leave additional sick leave or accumulation sick leave:
Nothing in this act shall affect the right of the Board of Education to fix either by rule or by individual consideration, the payment of salary in cases of absence not constituting sick leave, or granting sick leave over and above the minimum sick leave as defined in this act, or allowing days to accumulate over and above those provided for in section 18A:30-2 except that no person shall be allowed to increase total accumulation by more than ten (10) days in any one year.

(f) Any teacher who does not utilize any of his annual sick leave entitlement shall receive two hundred dollars ($200) at the conclusion of the school year.

(g) Unused personal leave days shall be carried over into the following year to be available to be used as sick days.

(a) Said leave shall commence when the teacher becomes unable to adequately perform, provided that, in the case of maternity, impending operation or similarly predictable disability, commencement may be scheduled by agreement with the Superintendent.

(b) Said leave is not to exceed more than two school years from date of request.

(c) No teacher shall be prevented from returning to work after childbirth solely on the ground that there has not been a time lapse between childbirth and the desired date of return.

(d) The Board shall not remove any teacher from her duties during pregnancy unless the teacher cannot produce a certificate from her physician that she is medically able to continue teaching, or in the opinion of the Superintendent the performance of the teacher is materially and adversely affected thereby.

(e) Teacher receiving said leave shall notify the Board by April lst of the school year prior to her return subject to the teacher's ability to perform prescribed duties.

(f) A teacher returning from a leave of absence will be given a teaching assignment and shall file a written statement of desire for a grade assignment with the Superintendent. Such statement shall include the grade to which the teacher desires to be assigned, in order of preference, and reason for request. Such requests for reassignment shall be submitted not later than April 15th of the school year prior to the termination of said leave.

(a) Death
In case of death in any teacher’s family or spouse’s family, the employee shall be excused for four (4) days when necessary without loss of salary.

(b) Court Order
In case of absence from school by reason of subpoena by a court, no deduction in salary shall be made, providing that the subpoena is filed with the Superintendent.

(c) Emergencies and Personal Days
Employees may be granted up to three days (3) of absence for an emergency or a personal day without deduction of salary, during any one school year. Application shall be made at least two days before taking such leave except in cases of emergency. The Superintendent or his/her designee will be notified as soon as possible when a day is being used for an emergency. In the event that a teacher who has already signed in has to leave the building for emergency or sickness, they are required to notify the building principal and superintendent's office prior to leaving the building.

(d) Additional leaves of absence may be granted by the Board.

If a teacher 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 teacher will be required to pay a representation fee to the Association in lieu of dues for service rendered by the Association.

Prior to the beginning of each membership year, the Association will notify the Board, in writing, of the amount of the regular membership dues, initiation fees and assessments charged by the Association to its own members for that membership year. Said fee shall conform to the rules and regulations promulgated by the Public Employment Relations Commission.

Once during each membership year covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, the Association will submit to the Board a list of those teachers who have not become members of the Association for the then current membership year. The Board will deduct from the salaries of such teachers, in accordance with Section 20.04 below, the full amount of the representation fee and promptly will transmit the amount as deducted to the Association.

Upon written notification from the Association that it has adopted and implemented a "demand and return system," the Board will deduct the representation fee in equal installments, as nearly as possible, from the paychecks paid to each teacher on the aforesaid list during the remainder of the membership year in question. The deductions will begin with the first paycheck paid thirty (30) days after receipt of the aforesaid list by the Board previously served as a teacher and continued in the employ of the Board in a non-bargaining unit position or was on layoff, in which event the deduction will begin with the first paycheck paid ten (10) days after the resumption of the individual's employment as a teacher.

If the employment of a teacher who is required to pay a representation fee is terminated before the Association has received the amount of representation fee (prorated for the membership year in question) to which it is entitled under this Article, the Board will deduct the unpaid portion of same from the last paycheck paid to said teacher.

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.

The Association will notify the Board, in writing, of any changes in the list provided for in paragraph 20.03 above and/or the amount of the representation fee, and such changes will be reflected in any deductions made more than thirty (30) days after the Board received said notice.

The definition of the word "teacher" as used in this Article shall be as defined in Article I section l.02 hereof.

The Association shall indemnify and hold the Board harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits and other forms of liability including liability for reasonable counsel fees and other legal costs and expenses that may arise out of, or by reason of any action taken or not taken by the Board in conformance with this Article.

This Agreement shall be effective as of July 1, 2003 and shall continue in effect until June 30, 2006, subject to the Association's right to negotiate over a successor Agreement as provided in Article II. This Agreement shall not be extended orally, and it is expressly understood that it shall expire on the date indicated, unless it is extended in writing.