Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel And Layoffs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Perrysburg schools outline RIF timeline, reassignments as staff reductions loom
Summary
District staff presented a draft reduction-in-force timeline that would begin in February, including RIF notices, involuntary reassignments and a small number of posts to be advertised; officials said retirements and redistricting could change the list.
Perrysburg Exempted Village School District officials provided the board a draft timeline on Feb. 5 for reductions in force — commonly called RIFs — and for involuntary reassignments tied to positions the district expects to eliminate.
The outline, presented to the board during a work session, put Feb. 10 as a tentative starting point for issuing RIF notices and described subsequent steps: issuance of RIF letters, involuntary reassignment notices where licensure allows employees to fill other roles, and limited internal postings for positions created by shifting duties.
The draft lists categories of positions the district expects to affect: three high-school music positions, six elementary-teacher positions (with a possible addition of two to four more tied to pending redistricting), two social-worker positions, reductions among Reading/Wilson and gifted roles and a pair of retiring high-school math teachers. Presenters said some employees whose positions would be cut hold alternate certifications that would allow the district to involuntarily reassign them into other openings rather than terminate them.
District staff emphasized the list is tentative and contingent on retirements, resignations and redistricting. Officials said retirements already have altered the list in at least one case by saving another teacher’s job. The timeline proposed sending RIF notices before board action in some categories and then bringing affected names to the board for informational approval as the contracts and union procedures require.
The district said its approach follows the collective-bargaining process it has with the teachers’ association and described steps used to order staff reductions where employees are otherwise similarly rated. The district will consider licensure/certification, most recent formal evaluation rating, seniority and, if tie-breakers are needed, attendance, education level and involvement when deciding which continuing- or limited-contract employees are affected.
Board members and staff raised questions about recall rights, posting processes and how the reductions would affect class sizes. District presenters said employees who are laid off would remain on the district’s recall list for three years and could be recalled if openings occur; meanwhile, the district expects to try to keep elementary class sizes at or below about 25 students but forecast that class sizes depend on kindergarten enrollment and final redistricting decisions.
The presentation noted the district is coordinating with the teachers’ association (PA) and that PA representatives have been involved in reviewing lists of affected employees. Officials said OPC (another bargaining group) procedure differs: for OPC members the board typically must vote to suspend contracts before further steps are taken.
Ending: District staff said they will refine the list and bring required documentation back to the board as decisions (retirements, redistricting) become final; no formal board votes on personnel actions occurred at the Feb. 5 work session.
