Troy schools post seniority list

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Updated: April 5, 2012 8:02AM

JOLIET — Troy School District employees will have 30 days to review for correction the district’s 2012 seniority list.

During a recent meeting of the Troy School Board, Joanne Schochat, assistant superintendent for human resources and general counsel, said the list was recently posted on the district’s intranet site. The list is accessible by staff behind a login and password.

Schochat said the final version of the list will be posted during the first week of March.

If there is a reduction in force, the staff must be reduced by seniority and also the district may limit the number of people taking the TRS Early Retirement Option to 10 percent of those eligible to retire.

“If the number of requests is large enough, the board may use the seniority list to reduce the number of early retirees to that 10 percent figure,” Schochat said.

The Transportation Department also used the seniority list to rotate midday kindergarten routes and extra work (such as field trips) among drivers.

In a related matter, Schochat also reported recent legislation will change the manner in which any reduction in force of the teaching staff will be handled.

She explained that the sequence of honorable dismissal will be first determined by categorizing each teacher into one or more positions for which the teacher is qualified to hold, and then within each position, teachers will be placed into one of four possible groups.

“Among teachers qualified to hold a position, teachers must be dismissed in the order of their groupings, with teachers in Group One dismissed first and teachers in Group Four dismissed last,” Schochat said.

Schochat said a school district must use the reform legislation in issuing notices of honorable dismissal to teachers after the district’s current labor agreement expires, or by June 30, 2013, whichever is sooner. Troy will be required to use this method after June 30, 2013.

The board recognized the three winners of the recent district Spelling Bee. First-place winner was Faith Bonds, sixth-grader; second place, Amanda Gardner, seventh-grader; and third place, Niels Kursell, eighth-grader. Faith will continue on to the Will County Spelling Bee on March 8 at Lewis University.

In other action, the board approved the employment of Carrie Upjohn, as assistant track coach; Christine Moran, boys head track coach; and Christopher Giugler, William B. Orenic Intermediate School Junior Beta Club.

In addition, Deborah Stuck was hired as student services facilitator. She is replacing Chastity Check who resigned.