1. A "grievance" is an allegation that this Agreement, or an individual teacher's contract has been misinterpreted, inequitably applied, or violated.

2. A "grievant" is the teacher, teachers, or Association making the allegation.

3. A "respondent" is the person(s) not covered by this Agreement required to hear and respond to a grievance.

4. A "hearing" is a meeting, beyond Level I, of the grievant, respondent and an Association representative held to identify the facts in the matter and attempt resolution. Each party shall have the right at such hearing to present witnesses, documents and other evidence, and arguments it deems necessary to develop facts pertinent to the grievance.

Every effort will be made to settle grievances at the lowest possible level of the grievance procedure in the quickest manner possible. Time limits shall be considered a maximum unless otherwise extended by mutual consent. A mutual extension shall be automatically agreed to in the case of weather or travel related delays beyond the control of the party/parties.

If a time deadline set forth in the grievance procedure is exceeded by the grievant, the right to grieve shall have been waived. If a time deadline is exceeded by the respondent, the grievance shall be immediately appealable to the next level.

The time limits for any grievance form, appeal, response, document, or other relevant matter shall be determined by either the postmarked mailing date of certified mail or the dating signature of the receiving party if hand delivered.

A grievance shall be filed at the lowest possible level where resolution of the grievance might occur.

Grievance forms shall be provided by the Board and made available at each school by the area principal.

Documents or pertinent information related to a grievance being processed shall be equally available to the grievant, respondent, and the Association.

No document pertaining to a grievance shall be placed in a person's personnel file. However, if a document already in a personnel file later becomes part of a grievance, removal of that document from the file shall not be required unless such removal is directed in the grievance decision.

Beyond level one, an official written or tape recorded record of each hearing shall be kept.  Such record shall be approved in writing by both the grievant and respondent. It shall be the responsibility of the respondent to prepare the record for approval.

Any individual employee or group of employees shall have the right at any time to present grievances to their employer and to have such grievances adjusted, without the intervention of the Association, as long as the resolution sought is not inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement. No other employee organization shall have the right to represent teachers in any grievance proceeding.

A grievant, upon request, is entitled to Association representation at all levels of the grievance procedure. No teacher will be required against their will to discuss his/her grievance or participate in a hearing without the presence of an Association representative. No grievance may be submitted to arbitration at level three without representation by and approval of the Association.

Should the "hearing" of a grievance require that a grievant and/or an Association representative be released from his/her regular assignment, he/she shall be released without loss of pay or benefits.

No reprisals shall be taken against any person for participating in the grievance process.

Grievance hearings which require the testimony of other teachers and/or community members from the site of the grievant shall be conducted at that site unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.

Level I

1. A grievant shall upon becoming aware of an act of a misinterpretation, inequitable application, or violation attempt to resolve the differences informally within ten (10) days with the appropriate respondent.

2. If the differences are not resolved informally, the grievant shall prepare a written grievance statement and shall submit it to the appropriate respondent. The Superintendent will provide the Association with a copy of the grievance. If a grievant does not submit his/her grievance within twenty (20) days of the unsuccessful attempt for informal resolution he/she shall have waived his/her right to this procedure.

3. Within ten (10) days of receipt of the grievance, the respondent shall conduct a meeting between himself/herself and the grievant. An Association representative, if requested by the grievant, shall be present.

4. Within ten (10) days of the above mentioned meeting, the respondent shall reply in writing to the grievant and the Association.

5. If the grievance is no resolved at this level or a written decision is not received within ten (10) days of the meeting, the grievant may process the grievance to Level II.

1. The grievant may appeal to the Superintendent within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the Level I decision or the date on which the decision was due. Upon receipt of the appeal, the Superintendent will provide the Association with a copy if the Association was not present at the Level I hearing.

2. Within ten (10) days of receipt of the grievance appeal the Superintendent shall schedule and conduct a hearing.

3. The Superintendent shall send a written answer to the grievant and the Association no later than ten (10) days after the hearing.

4. A grievance which is based on action taken or not taken by the Board, Superintendent, or other Central Office Administrative staff may be filed initially at Level II.

5. If the grievance is not resolved at this level or if a written decision is not received within ten (10) days of the meeting, the Association may process the grievance to Level III.

1. The Association may appeal the Level II decision to arbitration within twenty (20) days of either the receipt of the Level II decision or the date on which the decision was due.

2. The Association shall notify (in writing) the Superintendent of its intent to proceed to arbitration. The Association and the Superintendent shall confer within five (5) days of such notice to attempt to select an impartial arbitrator. If the parties fail to mutually agree to an arbitrator the Association shall request a list of at least seven (7) names from the American Arbitration Association.

3. As soon as the list is received, the parties or their designated representative shall determine by lot the order of elimination and thereafter shall, in that order, alternately strike a name from the list and the seventh and remaining name shall act as the arbitrator.

4. The arbitrator shall schedule a hearing on the grievance and after hearing such evidence as the parties desire to present, shall render a written decision. A decision of the arbitrator shall be binding upon the parties.

5. The fee and expenses of the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the Association and the Board.