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Other Staffing Considerations

New Limitations on Centrally Funded Excessing

In general
Principals should always have the ability to choose their school teams. For this reason, we are profoundly committed to the recent contract reform that eliminated the destructive practice of “bumping” and “forced placement” of teachers and gave principals control over teacher hiring. But that commitment has a corollary: Once teachers are in a school, principals are responsible for them. If a principal has a poorly performing teacher, the principal has several appropriate options—but excessing is never one of them. If principals use excessing to remove poor performers, we will have a large pool of unemployable teachers on the central payroll, creating costs that limit school funding and create pressure once again to force-place excesses.

For these reasons, schools must self-fund their excess teachers in all but extraordinary circumstances. For excess teachers whom schools will self-fund, schools may select a new reason category, “school-funded excess.” This will allow these teachers to obtain transfers through the Excess Staff Selection System beginning on August 8, 2007.

The Department will only centrally fund excess teachers when two separate thresholds are met:

First, the reason for the excess, which will be verified, must fall into one of a few narrow categories:

Allowed reasons for excessing:

• Grade loss or reconfiguration (confirmed centrally)
• Grant reduction or ending only if not foreseeable
• Register loss of at least 5 percent
• Loss of need for mandated IEP Para

The following reasons for excessing will no longer be available:

• Return from sabbatical
• Mandated positions no longer needed (except IEP Para)
• Potentially anticipated grant reduction or ending
• Program ending
• Program restructuring/Different license

Second, within these categories, schools must also demonstrate financial need under FY07 SAM #36.

Other policies

Discounting for excessed teachers will be available for centrally funded teachers in excess for at least six months. The school will be eligible for a discount equal to the difference between the teacher's actual salary and first-year teacher salary in year 1, then 50 percent of the difference in year 2.

Any school assigned an excessed teacher as a full-time substitute (ATR) who is terminated or charged under 3020-a will be refunded the amounts charged for the ATR based on the school's inability to obtain satisfactory substitute service from the ATR.

CSA Contract
(NOTE: This information has been updated since the Resource Guide was published in May.)

In light of the spring 2007 CSA collective bargaining agreement, the Department upwardly adjusted the salaries for CSA members to reflect the fiscal year 2008 cost of the increases and provide schools with funds to cover those salaries on June 26th, 2007. Schools received an amount sufficient to cover the FY 08 cost of the salary increases for their CSA members and their CSA vacancies in tax levy allocation categories.

In 2008-2009, these additional funds will be distributed through the Fair Student Funding process and will not be provided on a school-by-school, member-by-member basis.

For more information, please see School Allocation Memorandum 31 .

Technical Notes on Staffing

Schools will still be charged actual salary for non-teaching positions, such as:

• Parent Coordinators and School Aides
• Assistant Principals and Principals
• Ed Paraprofessionals
• Guidance Counselors

When charging teachers to categorical funding streams, schools will continue to be responsible for fringe benefits.