School board closer to dismissal policy

By MONROE ROARK
mroark@TheCitizenNews.com

While no official action has yet been taken regarding a proposed fair dismissal policy for Fayette County School System teachers, members of the Board of Education have made it clear that they want to protect teachers and plan to implement a policy that will do so.

"Due process is important," said board member Janet Smola, adding that making sure whatever is adopted is constitutional is also of vital importance.

Receiving particular scrutiny during Monday's special called board meeting was a policy recently adopted by the Clayton County Board of Education.

Fayette County School System attorney Phil Hartley said that he believes that document is legal, but there is a point of concern with him as well as Superintendent John DeCotis about one particular item, which could put the superintendent and the school board in adversarial positions.

Georgia's current fair dismissal policy, which applies to teachers hired before July 1 of last year, ensures protection to teachers after they have accepted a fourth consecutive contract with the same school system. This practice, referred to by some as "tenure," has been eliminated under Gov. Roy Barnes' new education legislation, so newer teachers do not apply and do not have due process rights like more veteran teachers do, according to the Fayette County Association of Educators, which is in favor of a fair dismissal policy and submitted a written notice to the school board in that regard.

Normally, a teacher who has met the four-year requirement must be given written notice by April 15 if the school system does not plan to renew his or her contract for the coming academic year. That teacher is then entitled to a hearing at which the school system must provide written charges, witnesses and evidence to back up its reasons for nonrenewal.

The local board must conduct a hearing and render a decision within five days, according to Georgia law. The teacher can appeal the ruling to the state's Board of Education, which has the power to uphold or reverse the local board decision.

Clayton County's policy, passed in December, says that if the board renders a decision in favor of the teacher, the case is sent back to the superintendent for reconsideration, and the superintendent may accept or reject the board's decision.

If the Fayette board made a practice of doing that, it could lead to some problems, according to Hartley. If the board decides that there is insufficient cause to dismiss a teacher but sends the case back to the superintendent, who then insists on dismissing the teacher, then the board and superintendent are in an adversarial position.

Also, if the superintendent were to dismiss a teacher under those circumstances, the board's favorable ruling would provide the teacher with some ammunition if he or she were to file a lawsuit against the county over the termination, Hartley said.

This scenario is not likely, Hartley stated, under the current administration. School board Chairman Mickey Littlefield said DeCotis has proven consistently that he is "pro-teacher."

But Hartley pointed out that neither the current board nor DeCotis would be in office forever, so the policy needs to be carefully considered with that in mind.

Littlefield asked if the possibility of litigation would be increased or decreased should the board not implement any new policy at all. Hartley said he did not think it would make a huge difference in those numbers, because it is rare across the state for a school system to just let a teacher go, and when it happens, the school system usually bends over backward to ensure things are done right so that a lawsuit does not result.

Smola asked about the possibility of a separate tribunal presiding over hearings such as this to keep the relationship between the school board and the superintendent unaffected. Hartley said that such a move is possible.

The consensus of the board was that letting teachers have the right to a hearing is a must. "That's what teachers are looking for," said school board member Greg Powers.

Also of paramount importance is having sufficient written documentation relating to any incident where a teacher is not going to be kept, to make the hearing process go more smoothly and fairly. "There must be documentation and not character assassination," Powers said.

Having a fair dismissal policy would give teachers similar rights to school administrators, according to the FCAE. Administrators do not have due process rights such as suggested above, but they can request and receive multi-year contracts. There are currently 17 administrators in the county with multi-year contracts, the FCAE stated. Board member Marion Key expressed concern about administrators with multi-year contracts overseeing teachers without tenure of any kind.

Hartley suggested that he take the comments of the school board and go back for another look at what the county could draw up, since the major points seem to be all right.

"I think we're 95 percent there philosophically," said Littlefield. "We just need to fine-tune it."

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