School Board to Discuss New Grievance Policy Tuesday

After tabling the matter two weeks ago and hearing feedback from teachers and residents, the Shorewood School Board will take another look at changes to the 's grievance policy, at a meeting Tuesday.

For the most part, the procedure for filing a grievance will follow the same basic steps as it always has, School Board President Paul Zovic said at a previous meeting — that's until an appeal reaches the School Board. While educators used to be able to challenge a School Board decision with arbitration through the union, now the board gets the final say.

According to the new proposed process, an employee must first discuss a grievance with the human resources coordinator. If it is not resolved, the employee can file a written grievance, meet with the director of personnel, and receive a written response from the administration.

Then, an employee can appeal to an impartial hearing officer, hired by the district, as needed, who will hear both sides and write a response. If still unsatisfied, an employee can appeal to the School Board who has the final decision. Both the impartial hearing officer and the School Board can decide not to hear an appeal.

At previous meetings, teachers and citizens spoke out against the changes, calling them unfair and disrespectful to district educators. Teachers also wanted clarification on what counts as a grievable action, and what role building principals will play in the process.