Level IV a. If the grievant is not satisfied with the disposition of his/her grievance at Level III, he/she may file the grievance within five (5) days of the Level III response for transmittal to the Board. b. The Board will hear the grievance at its next regularly scheduled meeting or a special meeting which has been called for that purpose. The Board shall transmit its written decision to the grievant within five (5) days of the meeting. The decision of the Board shall be final. Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to deny a grievant any appeal rights available under the law.
Level II In the event the grievance is not resolved in Level I, the decision rendered may be appealed to the Superintendent of Schools, provided such an appeal is made in writing within ten (10) days after receipt of the decision in Level I. If a grievance is properly appealed to the Superintendent, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall meet regarding the grievance within fifteen (15) days after receipt of the appeal. Within ten (10) days after the meeting, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall issue a decision, in writing, to the parties involved.
Level I If the grievance is not resolved through informal discussions, the School District designee shall give a written decision on the grievance to the parties involved within ten (10) days after receipt of the written grievance.
Level III In the event the grievance is not resolved in Level II, the decision rendered may be appealed to the School Board, provided such an appeal is made in writing within ten (10) days after receipt of the decision in Level II. If a grievance is properly appealed to the School Board, the School District shall hear the grievance within twenty (20) days after the receipt of the appeal. Within twenty (20) days after the meeting the School Board shall issue its decision in writing to the parties involved. At the option of the School Board, a committee or representative(s) of the School District may be designated by the School Board to hear the appeal at this level, and report its findings and recommendations to the School District. The School District shall then render its decision.
Level Four Within ten days after receiving the Board’s decision at Level Three, the Association may submit the grievance to arbitration. The Association shall notify the Board of its intention to submit the matter to arbitration within this ten-day period. After such notification, the following procedure shall be followed: a. The Association shall make a written request for the grievance’s arbitration by requesting the American Arbitration Association to submit to the parties the names of at least nine qualified arbitrators. The parties shall select the arbitrator according to the rules of the AAA. b. Each party shall provide the other with a copy of its arbitration demand. c. The arbitrator shall have no power to amend, subtract from, or add to this Agreement’s terms. The parties’ past practice in interpreting or applying this Agreement’s terms may only be relevant if the Agreement’s language is vague or ambiguous. d. If either party claims before the arbitrator that a particular grievance fails to meet the test of arbitrability, as set forth in this Grievance Procedure, the arbitrator shall first rule on such claim and, if sustained, shall not proceed further except to render the decision based upon sustaining the claim. The arbitrator’s jurisdictional authority is defined as and limited to determining any grievance between the parties to the grievance which concerns compliance with any of this Agreement’s terms, as provided in Section A(I) of this Article, and submitted to the arbitrator pursuant to this Agreement’s terms. The arbitrator shall not have authority to render a decision on any issue not submitted under these grievance procedures. Unless the parties expressly agree otherwise in writing, the arbitrator is limited to hearing only one grievance upon its merits at any one hearing. e. Neither party shall be permitted to assert in an arbitration proceeding any ground or to rely on any evidence not previously disclosed to the other party. At least ten days before the arbitration hearing the parties shall disclose (and provide copies of if at all possible) all exhibits, and a list of witnesses to be called and the anticipated nature of their testimony. f. The arbitrator’s decision on the grievance is binding and final. g. The cost of arbitration shall be divided equally between the Board and the Association. h. All documents, communications, and records dealing with the processing of a grievance shall be filed separately from the participant’s personnel file.