Common use of PERFORMANCE (WITHHOLDING OF RAISE-MAXIMUM STEP) Clause in Contracts

PERFORMANCE (WITHHOLDING OF RAISE-MAXIMUM STEP). 1. The Committee/Administration shall have the right to withhold future wage increases for teachers at maximum step, subject to the following terms and conditions: (a) The teacher is given appropriate notice, through the evaluation process, that he/she is at risk in terms of the Administrator recommending withholding of wage increases based upon job performance. The Administrator must set forth: (1) that the teacher is "at risk" regarding the withholding of his/her wage increase and (2) the basis upon which he/she is making his recommendation, i.e. which criteria he/she finds not acceptable in terms of the teacher’s performance and the reasons why he/she finds such performance not acceptable. (b) Withholding may take place only after the teacher receives two (2) successive yearly notices that he/she is "at risk" of losing his/her wage increase. (c) A teacher at risk hereunder shall receive at least 3 formal observations each year. (d) The criteria for measuring job performance shall be the criteria referred to in the contract (see Appendix D-1). (e) The Administrator shall include suggestions concerning ways to improve and shall make reasonable efforts to help the teacher improve. (f) The Superintendent shall notify the Association and affected teacher, in writing, that it is his/her intent to recommend withholding of the increase no later than April 1 of the school year preceding the scheduled increase. The Association and affected teacher shall have the right, upon request made in writing within five (5) days of receipt of notice from the Superintendent, to meet and confer with the Superintendent concerning his/her recommendation, which meeting shall take place within ten (10) days of the Superintendent’s receipt of the Association’s written request. The Association shall have the right, upon request made in writing within five (5) days of the meeting with the Superintendent, to appeal to the Committee. Said appeal shall be treated as a grievance. The Committee shall meet with the Association and the affected teacher within twenty (20) school days thereafter, or at the date of the next succeeding school committee meeting, (whichever is the later). In the event the matter is not satisfactorily resolved at the Committee level, the Association shall have the right to challenge the proposed withholding in arbitration. (a) The Association must notify the Committee in writing within twenty (20) days of the Committee meeting regarding its intent to go to arbitration. (b) The arbitrator must be able to hold a hearing with 20 days of selection and render a decision with 10 days of hearing. (c) The employee shall not have the right to proceed to arbitration alone. (d) The cost of arbitration is to be shared equally between the Committee and the Association. (e) The implementation of the recommendation and decision to withhold shall be held in abeyance pending the arbitration decision. (f) Parties shall attempt to mutually agree upon the arbitrator. In the event they are unable to so agree, the grievance is to be submitted to the American Arbitration Association in accordance with the Voluntary Labor Arbitration Rules then in effect. (g) Incorporate the last six (6) lines of Article III, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇, on page 6 of the collective bargaining agreement. 2. The wage increase will be reinstated prospectively upon the successful completion of a future evaluation year as reflected by the summative evaluation. Reinstatement shall take place at such time, pro rata for the balance of the school year. 3. If mentor teachers have been appointed, they will be utilized, if possible, to help the teacher. 4. The Committee/Administration’s right to withhold wage increases as herein provided is not in derogation of any other rights of the School Committee/Administration in reference to performance problems nor is the Committee/Administration’s failure to withhold any wage increase, as herein provided, to create a negative inference, or be used in any way against the Committee/Administration.