Policy 5100R - Hiring Process and Criteria

Hiring Process and Criteria
The Board of Trustees has the legal responsibility of hiring all employees.  The Board assigns to the Superintendent the process of recruiting staff personnel.  The Superintendent may involve various administrative and teaching staff personnel as may be needed in recruiting staff personnel.  All personnel selected for employment must be recommended by the Superintendent and approved by the Board.  All certificated personnel selected for employment must also go through the screening process outlined in Idaho Code 33-1210 and be approved for hire by the Building Principal in the building to which they will be assigned.

To aid in obtaining quality staff members, the following factors will be considered:  qualifications, training, experience, personality, character, and ability to relate well with students. Every effort will be exerted to maintain wide diversity in staff experience and educational preparation. However, the welfare of the children of the District will be a paramount consideration in the selection of teachers and administrators. 

Guidelines

  1. There will be no discrimination in the hiring process.  See Policy 5121.
  2. Applicants for teaching positions shall provide evidence of meeting State requirements for regular certification and sign a statement authorizing current and past school district employers to release to the District all information relating to job performance or job related conduct.  Applicants who do not sign the statement/release shall not be considered for employment.  The District will consider information received from current and past school district employers only for the purpose of evaluating applicants’ qualifications for employment in the position for which they have applied and no one shall disclose such information to anyone, other than the applicant, who is not directly involved in the process of evaluating the applicants’ qualifications for employment.  Applicants may be employed on a conditional basis pending receipt of information from current and past school district employers.  Applicants shall not be prevented from gaining employment if current or past out-of-state employers are prevented from or refuse to cooperate with the District’s request. See Forms 5100F1 and 5100F2.
  3. Applicants for high school and middle school positions should have a major or its equivalent in the specific teaching field(s).  Elementary applicants should have a major or its equivalent in elementary education or in the special area of assignment(s).  Applicants for specific teaching positions shall also meet the State’s highly qualified standards.
  4. When considering coaching assignments in secondary schools, preference for hiring will be given to a qualified teacher in the school where the coaching vacancy exists.  The Building Principal will certify that all qualified applicants within the building have been given consideration.
  5. As required in Idaho Code 65-505, the District will observe preference for veterans and disabled veterans when considering hiring employees to fill vacancies, selecting new employees, or implementing a reduction in force.
  6. As required in Idaho Code 33-130, the District will conduct a criminal history check for applicable positions.  See Policy 5110.
  7. Each newly hired employee must complete an Immigration and Naturalization Service form, as required by federal law. 

The employment of any certified staff member is not official until the contract is approved by the Building Principal, the Board, and signed by both the Board Chairman and the applicant.

To assist administrators in compliance with the above policy for the hiring of professional staff, the following guidelines shall be utilized:

I. Notice of Vacancies

  1. Vacancies will be posted only after receiving a written resignation from a contracted professional employee of the District or if a new position is created within the District.  When that official resignation has been received, the Superintendent will post notices in all school buildings and the District Office.
    • External notices may also be posted at this time
    • The Superintendent's Office will post notice of any certified or non-certified vacancy within the District for five (5) school days for current employees to apply for the position.
  2. The building/program administrator will have the responsibility to interview all applicants who meet the qualifications needed for the position. All internal applicants who are qualified for the position will be interviewed.
  3. If a transfer is approved by the Building Principal, it will be submitted in writing to the Superintendent immediately following such determination.  Since such transfer would automatically create a vacancy in another location, notice of that vacancy will be posted as specified above, with the exception that if the same grade level vacancy for the school has already been posted, the above building notice requirement will be waived.
  4. An application or letter of interest will be maintained within the District file for a period of one year from the date of inquiry.  It is the responsibility of any applicant who desires to be considered for positions within the District to reactivate his/her file annually.

II. Job Vacancy Notices
Any notice from Kimberly School District No. 414 will contain the following information:

  1. Position available and job description.
  2. Requirements for completed application, as applicable for position, include but are not limited to:
    • completed District application form;
    • official transcript of all university or college credits;
    • placement center file if available;
    • personal resume;
    • verification or eligibility of Idaho certification; and
    • signed statement/release for current and past school district employers.
  3. Timeline for receiving application.
  4. Process notification of how applications will be handled.

III. Job Descriptions
There will be written job descriptions for all positions of the School District. These shall be consistent with Affirmative Action, related standards and the educational programs of the District. The ‘job description’ will describe the essential characteristics, requirements, and general duties of the position. All personnel shall be subject to the requirements delineated in the job descriptions so that they may effectively contribute to the goals and purposes of the school district. The descriptions shall not be interpreted as complete or limiting definitions of any job, and employees shall continue in the future, as in the past, to perform duties assigned by the Board, supervisors, or other administrative authority.

IV. Application Procedures
It will be the responsibility of any applicant to provide the information listed in II B above.

  • Such information must be received prior to the cutoff date for receiving applications as specified in the vacancy notice.
  • It will be the discretion of the Superintendent, the appropriate administrator, or the building administrator to determine whether such deadlines should be extended to accommodate individuals where placement center files, transcripts or other materials are not yet received by the District for consideration.  Such time extension will be restricted to a reasonable time frame.
  • Upon receipt of the completed applications, those applications will be placed in a file for review and consideration at the District Office.
  • Walk-in candidates seeking employment as substitute teachers or classified employees may submit applications for employment at any time. Consideration given such applications will be determined according to the needs of the District.

V. Screening and Interviewing

  • The building or program administrator may establish a screening committee to assist in the screening process.
  • The screening committee, upon receiving the written applications from the appropriate administrator will review those applications for the purpose to determine those most suited to the position to be interviewed.
  • The building or program administration will establish the procedures at the building or program level for interviewing the successful applicants.
  • Upon determining the qualified applicant, the building administrator will submit to the Superintendent, the written recommendation for the applicant to be offered a contract.

VI. Acceptance Procedure
Once the Committee has selected the final candidate, the name will be provided to the Superintendent who will review the applicant’s credentials with the building/program administrator.  If the Superintendent and Building Principal concur with the recommendation, the Superintendent will:

  • Authorize a verbal offer of employment, pending Board approval, to be made to the candidate.
  • Upon receiving verbal acceptance by the candidate, the Superintendent will prepare the necessary papers for recommendation to the Board of Trustees at the next regular or special Board meeting.
  • Submit to the Board of Trustees such recommendation.

VII. Board Action
The Board of Trustees of Kimberly School District No. 414 will:

  • Have placed before it the final candidate names for the position; and
  • Approve candidates, unless they personally have knowledge not available to the building administrator and the screening committee.  In that case, the Board will not take action until all concerns have been reviewed by the building/program administrator.

VIII. Approval
Upon approval by the Board of Trustees, a contract, in a form approved by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, will be sent or given to the applicant pursuant to the requirements set out in I.C. 33-513.  The applicant must sign the contract and return it within ten (10) days from the date the contract is delivered to them.  Should the person willfully refuse to acknowledge receipt of the contract or the contract is not signed and returned to the Board in the designated period of time, the Board may declare the position vacant.  Should the candidate not be approved, or the person willfully refuse to acknowledge receipt of the contract or the contract is not signed and returned to the Board the Superintendent will remand the situation to the building administrator and screening committee to provide the next applicant’s name for consideration.

IX. Certification
To qualify for employment, each teacher or administrator must have a valid Idaho teaching/administrative certificate on file in the District Office at the beginning of the school year.  Salary will be withheld if the certificate is not on file by September 10 of the given year.

Record Keeping Requirements
Record keeping of hiring procedures will be in compliance with agencies which require assurance and documentation that applicants are chosen on the basis of job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities and are not disqualified for irrelevant reasons.

Cross Reference: 
5110 Fingerprinting and Criminal Background Investigations
5120 Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination
5100F1-5100F3 Hiring Process and Criteria Forms

Legal Reference:
I.C. § 33-130 Criminal history checks for school district employees or applicants for certificates
I.C. § 33-512 Governance of schools
I.C. § 33-513 Professional personnel
I.C. § 33-1210 Information on past job performance
I.C. § 65-505 Officials to observe preference
I.C. § 67-2345(a) Executive sessions

Policy History:
Adopted on: Nov.17, 2011
Revised on: Oct. 17, 2012