Carthage R-9 | R 4120 Employment Procedures

Certificated Staff

All staff members shall be appointed by the Board only upon recommendation of the Superintendent. Should a person nominated by the Superintendent be rejected by the Board, it shall be the Superintendent’s duty to make another nomination. The Superintendent shall ensure that all persons nominated for employment meet certification requirements and the qualifications established for the particular position.

Interviewing and selection procedures shall assure that the principal or other administrator to be directly responsible for the work of the staff member has, to the extent possible, an opportunity to aid in his/her selection; however, the final selection shall be made or approved by the Superintendent. Candidates who were interviewed but not offered contracts will be promptly notified.

All candidates shall be considered on the basis of their merits and qualifications and the needs of the school system. In each instance the Superintendent and others playing a role in the selection shall seek to hire the best-qualified person for the job. No person shall on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, marital status, age or disability that will not impair performance be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in employment for recruitment, consideration, or selection, therefore, whether full-time or part-time, certificated or noncertificated, under any educational program or activity operated by the District. Any current employee meeting the stated requirements may apply for any position in the District.

To teach in the public schools of' Missouri, the teacher must possess an appropriate and valid teaching certificate. The laws state specifically that the teacher must not assume that a portion of the school year can be taught before obtaining a certificate, because the certificate must be in force for the full time for which the contract is effective, beginning the first day of school. If the teacher does not already have a teacher's certificate or has not made arrangements to secure it, he/she should contact the office of the Superintendent/designee at once to make such arrangements. This certificate, along with official copies of transcripts showing all college hours and degrees must be kept on file with this office. If the certificate or letter of intent from the State Department is not on file, no salary payments will be made.

Applications for positions in the District shall be made in writing upon official application forms furnished by the Board and returned to the District Administrative Office. Applicants will provide all pertinent information requested. Failure to provide truthful/accurate information may be considered grounds for termination. School administrators shall investigate the personal, professional and experiential background of applicants. All candidates will be considered on the basis of qualifications, training, experience and ability to fulfill the requirements of the position. All offers of employment and continuation of employment for new employees after December 1, 1999, are contingent upon satisfactory clearance of a Missouri Department of Social Services Request for Child Abuse or Neglect Criminal Record, a Missouri State Highway Patrol background check and a FBI Fingerprint Screen.

Retired Certificated Teachers-Critical Shortage

If the District itself determines that it has a critical shortage of teachers, the District may employ retired teachers who are currently receiving PSRS retirement benefits. Retired teachers employed under this subsection will not lose these retirement benefits and may teach under this program for up to four (4) years. The exact number of retired certificated teachers that may be employed at any one time as a result of the critical shortage is the greater of 1% of the total of teachers and noncertificated staff or five (5) teachers, whichever is greater.

In determining whether the District has a critical shortage of certificated teachers, the District will:

Make a good faith effort to recruit certificated teachers;
Post vacancies for at least one month;
Not have offered an early retirement incentive program (ERIP) in either of the two preceding years;
Solicit applications through the media and through teacher preparation programs;
Determine that there is an insufficient number of eligible applicants; and
Declare a critical shortage of certificated teachers for one year.

Retired Non-Certificated Employees – Critical Shortage

If the District determines that it has a critical shortage, the District may employ retired noncertificated employees who are receiving non-teacher retirement benefits for up to four (4) years. Retired persons employed under this subsection will not incur a reduction of retirement benefits during such employment. The total number of such retired noncertificated at any one time will be determined by calculating 10% of the total noncertified staff or five (5) employees, whichever is lesser. The procedures for determining a critical shortage shall utilize the six criteria set forth in the preceding paragraph. However, the determination of critical shortage must be made for each of the groups of retired employees.

Support Staff

Letters of employment for support staff are issued as soon as feasible after salary schedule and terms have been approved by the Board. Since full-time employees begin their year on July 1, the target date for issuance of letters of employment is as close to the beginning of the fiscal years as possible.

The work year for support staff personnel will be set by the Board based on classification and responsibilities.

Applications for positions in the District shall be made in writing upon official application forms furnished by the Board and returned to the District Administrative Office. Applicants will provide all pertinent information requested. Failure to provide truthful/accurate information may be considered grounds for termination. School administrators shall investigate the personal and experiential background of applicants. All candidates will be considered on the basis of qualifications, training, experience and ability to fulfill the requirements of the position. All offers of employment and continuation of employment for new employees after December 1, 1999, are contingent upon satisfactory clearance of a Missouri Department of Social Services Request for Child Abuse or Neglect Criminal Record, a Missouri State Highway Patrol background check and a FBI Fingerprint Screen.

Recruitment procedures will not overlook the talents and potential of individuals already employed by the District. Any current qualified employee meeting the stated requirements may apply for any position in the District.

Support staff employees will be paid on the Board approved salary schedule.

Immigration Reform and Control Act

The federal Immigration Reform and Control Act requires all employers to hire only American citizens and aliens who are authorized to work in the United States in order to preserve jobs for those who are legally entitled to them. The District will implement the following procedures to assure compliance with the law:

Any employee hired after November 6, 1986, will complete an Eligibility Verification Form (Form I-9), and will produce documents that will establish his/her identity and eligibility to work (Form I-9 contains a list of documents that will fulfill this requirement);
The District will retain an individual's Form I-9 for three years after the date of hire or one year after the individual is terminated, whichever is later; and
The form may be reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and potentially by other federal agencies. In order to minimize potential intrusion, Eligibility Verification Forms will be maintained separately from the employee’s personnel files as stipulated in Policy 4860.

For further information concerning the procedures surrounding the Form I-9 or the District's obligations under the Act, consult the District office responsible for personnel matters.

Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS)

Applicants whose fingerprints have been taken as part of the MACHS criminal record check, as required by the District, are entitled to the following rights:

Notification that the applicant’s fingerprints will be used to check the criminal history records of the FBI;
If the applicant is determined to have a criminal record, he/she will be provided with an opportunity to challenge the report;
Applicants determined to have a criminal history record will be advised of the procedure for obtaining a change, correction or update within Title 28 Code of Federal Regulation; and
If the applicant has a criminal record history, the applicant will be given a reasonable amount of time to correct the record before employment is denied because of the criminal history.