Lakeland District reviews and revises draft reduction-in-force procedures for certified staff

Lakeland District trustees, union representatives and district staff spent a meeting-length discussion reviewing and revising the district’s reduction-in-force (RIF) policy and associated procedures, focusing on the evaluation basis, scoring form and legal limits on how employees may be selected for elimination.

The review centered on clarifying that the board retains sole authority to determine the number of certified employees to eliminate but must base individual selection on documented evaluation information and the district’s scoring form (identified in the discussion as policy 5740f). Participants also debated how to treat different contract categories, how to weight evaluation results versus professional contributions, and whether the procedures adequately protect both employee due process and the district’s administrative needs in emergency scenarios.

Why it matters

The policy governs how Lakeland District would eliminate certified staff positions for reasons such as program changes, declining enrollment or fiscal emergency. Changes to wording and the scoring procedure will determine which teachers are included in RIF pools, how candidates are ranked, and how quickly staff can be recalled if positions reopen.

What the board and staff discussed

- Basis for selection: Participants agreed the decision about which certified employees are subject to a RIF should be based on documented evaluation information, using the…