Policy Number

10.00

 

LOUISA EAST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNCIL POLICY

 

Lawrence County Schools                                             Louisa East Elementary School

 

Policy Type (Check One)

 

X Council Operations

 

   School Operations

 

POLICY TOPIC DESCRIPTION

Consultation on Vacancies

 

 

POLICY STATEMENT

See attached statement.

 

 

Date Adopted: January 11, 2007

 

Date(s) Amended:  October 8, 2009

 

Date Reviewed: February 4, 2010                                                        Debra Hixson

                                                                                                        Council Chairman

CONSULTATION ON VACANCIES

 

The Council shall be consulted prior to the principal’s selection of personnel to fill all non-principal school-based vacancies that shall occur at the school.

 

Once a vacancy occurs, the Council will meet in open session to:

  1. Determine criteria for a strong candidate (being sure that those criteria do not discriminate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, or any other illegal grounds).
  2. Develop interview questions that fit the selected criteria.
  3. Identify any other methods the Council may want to use to determine whether candidates meet the criteria, beyond the application, references, and interview.  (For example, the Principal/Council may consider asking for writing samples, request a chance to observe candidates at work, request a written response to a hypothetical work challenge, or some other activity to indicate a candidate’s capacities.
  4. Determine a schedule to conduct interviews of qualified applicants.
  5. The council may defer this duty to the principal.

 

After receiving a list of applicants from the superintendent, the Council will meet in closed session to:

  1. Review all applications and written references.
  2. Select applicants to interview.
  3. Decide if information in the written application leads to any specialized questions that should be asked of a particular applicant.  (For example, an application that refers to participation in a special seminar might lead to a question about what the applicant learned, or one that shows a gap between leaving one job and taking another might lead to a question about what the person did during the intervening period.)
  4. Agree on what, if any, specialized questions will be asked.
  5. The council may defer this duty to the principal.

 

The principal will schedule an interview with each selected applicant at a time convenient for Council members to attend.  Each interview will occur during closed session and the Council will remain in closed session to discuss how each applicant meets the established criteria.  The minutes of the school council meeting shall refer to consultation with the Council.

 

If a quorum of the members of the school council is not available to attend a meeting for the purpose of conducting consultation in the filling of a vacancy, the principal shall call a special meeting and conduct consultation with the council members who can attend.  The definition of quorum for the purposes of filling the specified vacancy in a situation when council members cannot all be present shall be:  “one or more members of the school council who are present for the consultation.”  If the council has conducted interviews within a one month time frame prior to an unexpected opening occurring, the council may recommend to the principal to select the candidate that was their second choice.

 

After considering the Council’s comments, the principal will select the person he/she believes will contribute most to the success of the school’s students and notify the superintendent, in writing, of the decision. The superintendent will complete the hiring process.