Jerome Joint School District No. 261

PERSONNEL 5100

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 personnel and hiring all classified personnel. The Superintendent may involve various

administrative and teaching staff as may be needed in recruiting potential personnel. All certificated personnel

selected for employment must be recommended by the Superintendent or designee and approved by the Board.

All personnel selected for employment must also go through the applicable screening process outlined in Idaho

Code 33-1210.

To aid in obtaining quality staff members, the following non-exclusive list of factors will be considered, along with

any other factors relevant to the position: qualifications, training, experience, personality, character, and ability to

relate well with students. Every effort will be made 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.

All applicants applying for a certificated position who are pursuing an alternate route to certification shall be

considered on a case-by-case basis. They must hold or demonstrate ability to hold any state certification required

for the position and demonstrate they meet the alternate route requirements.

Except where otherwise specified, this policy applies to the hiring of all certificated and classified staff members in

the District except for the Superintendent.

Guidelines

1. There will be no discrimination in the hiring process. See Policy 5120.

2. If the vacant position is that of the Superintendent, the hiring process and the review of all applicants is

the responsibility of the Board of Trustees.

3. Applicants for teaching and administrative positions shall provide evidence of meeting State requirements for certification as described below and sign a statement authorizing current and past school district employers, including those outside the state of Idaho, to release to the District all information relating to job performance or job related conduct, and making available to the District copies of all documents in the applicant’s previous personnel files, investigative, or other files. Such statement will also release the applicant’s current and past employers from any liability for providing such information and documentation. 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. No District employees shall disclose this 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 non contracted provisional basis as allowed by law.

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.

4. Applicants must meet the applicable State standards for the position they are applying for. Applicants for high school and middle school teaching positions should have a major or its equivalent in the field they will be teaching. Applicants for elementary school teaching positions should have a major or its equivalent in elementary education or in their area of assignment

5. When considering coaching assignments in secondary schools, preference for hiring will be given to

qualified certificated professional employees in the school where the coaching vacancy exists. The

building principal will be responsible for assuring that all qualified and interested applicants within the

building have been given consideration. Giving such individuals consideration does not mean that such an individual will necessarily be retained for a coaching position. Another individual who is not a certificated employee of the building in question may receive the position.

6. 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.

7. As required in Idaho Code 33-130 and 33-512(15), the District will conduct a criminal history check for

applicable positions. See Policy 5110.

8. 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 complying with the above policy for the hiring of l staff, the following guidelines shall be

utilized when hiring staff:

I. Notice of Vacancies

A. Vacancies will be posted after the Board or Superintendent has approved written resignation

from a contracted professional employee of the District, or pending Board approval, a

termination or non-renewal has occurred, a release from contract has been granted, a new

position is created within the District, or a vacancy has otherwise occurred. When that official

resignation has been received or a position is otherwise available, the Superintendent will post

notices in on the District website. The Superintendent's Office will post notice of any vacancy on

the District web site for three (3) school days for current teachers or administrators to apply for

the position. If a termination or release from contract requires Board approval to be final, the

Superintendent may post the vacancy pending this approval..

The Superintendent's Office will post notice of any vacancy within the District for three (3) school

days for internal applicants to apply for the position. For purposes of this policy, “internal

applicant” refers to a certified

B. Upon the conclusion of the three (3) school day period, the appropriate administrator will

meet with the appropriate building or program administrator, and review all requests for

transfer. In the event the open position is deemed by the Board to be an administrative or

director position, including building principal, the application must advance to the

Superintendent’s office for appropriate review, including consultation with the Board.

C. If an applicant is recommended by the Building Principal, the recommendation it will be

submitted in writing to the Superintendent immediately following such determination. If such

transfer would 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 or subject vacancy for the school

has already been posted, the above building notice requirement may be waived and the existing

applicant pool utilized.

D. Should the building/program administrator determine that he/she does not wish to accept the

request of any internal applicants, or no individuals internal applicants have requested to apply,

the principal will give notice to the appropriate administrator, who will prepare a job notice to be

posted externally.

E. 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.

F. The Superintendent may deviate from the processes in the outline above if he/she determines

that such deviation is in the best interest of the District. If the applicant would be employed as a

teacher, administrator, school resource officer, or bus driver under a Return to Work program,

the District will ensure full compliance with PERSI rules prior to offering the position as described

in Policy 5750.

II. Job Vacancy Notices

Any notice from Jt. Jerome School District No. 261 will contain the following information:

A. Position available and job description.

B. Requirements for completed application, as applicable for position, include but are not limited

to: 1) completed District application form; 2) official transcript of all university or college credits;

3) personal resume; 4) verification or eligibility of Idaho certification; and 5) signed

statement/release for current and past school district employers.

C. Timeline for receiving application.

D. Process notification of how applications will be handled.

III. Application Procedures

It will be the responsibility of any applicant to provide the information required for a completed

application listed above.

A) Such information must be received prior to the cutoff date for receiving applications as specified

in the vacancy notice.

B) It will be the discretion of the Superintendent, the appropriate administrator, and 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.

C) In addition to the certification information provided by the applicant, the District will also

request from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction verification of certification

status, any past or pending violations of the professional code of ethics, any detail as to any prior

or pending conditions placed upon a certificate holder’s certificate, any prior or pending

revocation, suspension or the existence of any prior letters of reprimand and information

relating to job performance.

D) Within three (3) business days of receipt of the statement releasing information from prior

school district employers, as required by I. C. 33-1210, such statement shall be sent to the prior

employers with a request for release of information and documentation to be provided as

required by that section.

Because responses to such requests may take up to twenty days, or possibly more for out-of-

state school district employers, information received pursuant to such request may be reviewed

prior to or after interviews have been concluded, at the discretion of the District. Where

possible, such information should be utilized as part of the screening process. However, due to

considerations of time, such early review may not be possible, and such information received

pursuant to this process may be reviewed or utilized up to any time prior to offering employment

to an applicant.

E) Upon receipt of the completed applications, those applications will be placed in a file for review

and consideration at the District Office.

IV. Preliminary Screening

A) For certified and classified vacancies, at either the time the job vacancy is published, or prior to

the conclusion of the application period, the school administrator will provide notice to the

appropriate administrator of the desired number of qualified individuals to be included in the

"screening pool". The screening pool shall be defined as the number of individuals having

completed applications that may be submitted to the building or program administrator for final

screening. In the event the open position is deemed by the Board to be an administrative or

director position, including principal, the size of the screening pool shall be determined by the

Superintendent.

V. Screening

A) The building or program administrator may establish a committee to assist in the final screening

process for certificated positions. This committee will act in an advisory capacity to the

Superintendent and to the Board.

B) The committee, upon receiving the written applications from the appropriate administrator will

review those applications for the purpose to:

1. Determine those most suited to the position.

2. Make personal telephone contact with one or more references submitted by the

applicant.

3. Contact individuals who might know the candidate, but were not listed as references, if

needed.

4. Invite the top candidates to be interviewed for the position.

C) The committee will establish the procedures at the building or program level for interviewing the

successful applicants and will have thoroughly vetted all applicants prior to committee review.

D) For those applicants who have no prior public school work experience or whose out-of-state

former employers will not release documentation requested pursuant to I.C. § 33-1210, the

screening committee or administrator may engage in whatever background checks it deems

appropriate, but at a minimum shall verify all prior work experience and educational

achievement listed by the applicant as the committee or administrator deems appropriate,

preferably by contacting the prior employers and/or educational institutions listed by the

applicant, and shall communicate with every person listed as a reference by the applicant.

E) Upon determining the qualified applicant, the building administrator will submit to the

Superintendent, the written recommendation for the applicant to be offered a the position.

VI. Acceptance Procedure

Once the Committee or administrator 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 does not concur with the committee or administrator’s recommendation, they shall ask the

committee for their next choice until a selection the Superintendent concurs with is found. If the Superintendent

concurs with the recommendation, the Superintendent will take the following steps.

1. Authorize a statement of intention to employ, pending Board approval, to be made to the candidate.

2. If, at the time the statement of intention to employ is made, the District has not yet received

documentation requested pursuant to I.C. 33-1210(3), the District may provisionally employ such

applicant for a certified position on a non-contracted basis for up thirty (30) days after receipt of the

documentation. Within that thirty day time period, the Board may issue a written statement to the

applicant identifying why a standard contract will not be issued and specifying which information justifies

such decision. The Board may not identify any reason for non-issuance of a standard contract not based

on the documentation received. If, within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the information requested

pursuant to I.C. 33-1210(3) no contract is issued or the written statement of non-employment is not

provided to the applicant, the employee will be deemed to be employed pursuant to the appropriate type

of contract. During this provisional employment, the applicant shall be provided the same compensation

and benefits as if the employee had been employed on a standard certificated contract.

3. If no documentation is received from out of state employers, the District may employ the applicant for

the certificated position on the appropriate type of A contract without utilizing the provisional, non-

contracted employment.

4. Upon receiving a verbal or written statement of intention to accept employment, pending Board

approval, 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.

5. Submit to the Board of Trustees such recommendation.

VII. Board Action

When approving the hiring of an employee, the Board of Trustees of Jt. Jerome School District No. 261

will:

A. Have placed before it the name of the final candidate for the position; and

B. Discuss hiring and in situations wherein the individual qualifications of the applicant are

discussed go into executive session pursuant to law; and

C. Vote relating to approval or disapproval of the candidates,. If members of the board personally

have knowledge not available to the building administrator and the screening committee, the

Board will not take action until all concerns have been reviewed by the building/program

administrator.

VIII. Approval of Candidate for Certificated Position

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 if the person willfully refuses 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 or

designee may declare the position vacant. If the candidate is not approved, or the person willfully

refuses to acknowledge receipt of the contract or if 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.

Any person on provisional employment pursuant to I.C. 33-1210(7) shall be subject to the same time

limits and provisions for return of a signed contract when and if such contract shall be provided to them

for signature.

IX. Certification

To qualify for employment, each teacher, pupil service staff or administrator must have, and maintain

during the entire school year, a valid instructional/pupil service staff/administrator certificate on file in

the District Office at the beginning of the school year. If at any time the teacher/pupil service

staff/administrator’s certification lapses, is revoked, or suspended, the certificated employee may be

subjected to action declaring a contract violation and action will be taken to terminate the employment

of the individual with the District.

Cross Reference: 5110 Fingerprinting and Criminal Background Investigations

5120 Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination

5100F1-5100F3 Hiring Process and Criteria Forms

5740 Reduction in Force

5740F Reduction in Force Form

5740P Reduction in Force Procedure

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. § 65-501 et seq. Rights and Privileges of Veterans

IC § 74-206 Executive Sessions—When Authorized

IDAPA 08.02.02.015.02 Standard Pupil Service Staff Certificate

IDAPA 21.01.06 Rules for the Enforcement of the Veteran’s Preference in Public

Employment

Policy History:

Adopted on: 03/25/2008

Revised on: 07/26/2011

Revised on: 10/23/2012

Revised on: 03/26/2013

Revised on: 06/23/2015

Revised on: 08/27/2019

Revised on: 01/25/2022

Revised on: 06/27/2023