1. Scott Richardson - McDaniel, Richardson, & Calhoun PLLC
Startup Lessons:
Hiccups and Legal Quirks in Forming the New Jacksonville School District
Scott Richardson - McDaniel, Richardson, & Calhoun PLLC

2. How do you get a new District?
It takes a long time and a lot of work.
For An Act to Be Entitled
AN ACT TO CREATE A PROCEDURE FOR THE CREATION OF
A SCHOOL DISTRICT BY DETACHMENT; AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
Act 1673 of 2001
Petition to the State Board of Education
Independent Feasibility Study
Map of Proposed District
Signed by 10% of Voters in Detachment Area
Describe Effect on Desegregation
Opinion from Attorney General on Desegregation Effect
Election of the Voters in Detachment Area
60 Days from Date of SBE Order

3. How do you get a new District?

5. What did they forget?
Consent of the School District They Were Detaching From

9. Bench-Slap

10. Where do you go from there?
If at first you don't succeed. . .
Rewrite the rules.
Detachment Election
Sept. 16, 2014
95% voter approval

11. And then try again.

12. Next steps . . .
Nov. 13, 2014 SBE Order appointed initial Board of Directors
Dec. 1, 2014, Interim Superintendent Bobby Lester hired.
April 16, 2015, Superintendent Tony Wood hired.

13. You have a District, now what. . .
Two key pieces of information to determine District revenue?
Assessment
Average Daily Membership
Per student funding based on prior year third quarter Average Daily Membership (ADM)

14. How to count students in a District that didn’t exist the prior year.
Enrollment in District Schools?
Permit Transfers?
School zone changes?
School Age Students Residing in the District?
Private School Students?
Charter School Students?
Transfer Students?

15. The Downside of Miscounting Students
Declining Enrollment
Facilities Wealth Index
Compounding effect of loss of students

16. How JNPSD counted students:
Enrolled the prior year and residing in the District boundaries.

17. Unintended Consequences
Act 1673 of 2001
Minimum Area and Attendance Requirements.
A new district may not be created in an area with less than four
thousand (4,000) students in average daily membership.
Act 372 of 2015

18. You have money, now what? Salary Schedule: What can you pay staff?
Time to Build a Staff
Salary Schedule:
What can you pay staff?
How many positions can you support?

19. How do you staff the schools?
No provision in the law for transfer of certified or classified contracts between districts.
Employment of teacher obligated to another school district — liability of hiring school district.
(a) Any school district which employs a teacher or administrator whom the school district knows, or should have known, is contractually obligated to another school district shall be liable to the other school district for an amount of money equal to the salary in the violated contract exclusive of fringe benefits.

20. RIF and Roll
Remaining District must terminate the contracts of the staff in the detaching territory.
New District must hire a whole new staff.
Problems?
Staff Morale
District policies on RIF’d employees

21. Dual Seniority Center Policy

22. New District Spends 8 Months Hiring Staff.
Normal District Hiring Process
Employment of teacher obligated to another school district — liability of hiring school district.
(a) Any school district which employs a teacher or administrator whom the school district knows, or should have known, is contractually obligated to another school district shall be liable to the other school district for an amount of money equal to the salary in the violated contract exclusive of fringe benefits.
Not hiring everyone.
New contracts go out prior to May 1
Teachers have 30 days to sign contracts.
Teachers have 10 days from last day of school year to resign.
By June 9 Staff is “contractually obligated.”

23. New District Spends 8 Months Hiring Staff.
JNPSD Hiring Process
Employment of teacher obligated to another school district — liability of hiring school district.
(a) Any school district which employs a teacher or administrator whom the school district knows, or should have known, is contractually obligated to another school district shall be liable to the other school district for an amount of money equal to the salary in the violated contract exclusive of fringe benefits.
Hiring completely new staff.
New contracts go out as staff are selected.
Teachers have 30 days to sign contracts.
No Staff is “contractually obligated” until 30 days after contract issued AND teacher signs contract.
Effect: certified staff a free to leave for any other district.

24. 500 Employees hired from Dec. 1, 2015 through August 2016
Total Staff as of Sept. 15, 2016
500 Employees hired from Dec. 1, 2015 through August 2016

25. Run the Numbers 4,139 Applicants: 2,401 Licensed, 1,737 Classified
514 Total Staff Hired as of Sept. 15, 2016
320 Teachers Previously worked in JNPSD schools.
23 of these quit after being hired
36 went to work for PCSSD
51 Licensed staff quit after being offered a position

26. Teacher Fair Dismissal Act
The Upside
Teacher Fair Dismissal Act
“Probationary Teacher” means a teacher who has not completed three (3) successive years of employment in the school district in which the teacher is currently employed. ACA (a)(1)(A)
Every Licensed employee subject to TFDA is a probationary employee through the school year
No appeals to Circuit Court until the school year
Action by Board - Final Decision - Appeal to Circuit Court
(a) (1)  Upon conclusion of its hearing with respect to the termination or nonrenewal of a contract of a teacher who has been employed as a full-time teacher by the school district for less than three (3) continuous years, the board of directors shall take action on the recommendations by the superintendent with respect to the termination or nonrenewal of such contract.
(2)  The board of directors' decision with regard to nonrenewal of a probationary teacher shall be final.

27. Public School Employee Fair Hearing Act
The Upside
Public School Employee Fair Hearing Act
“Probationary employee" means an employee who has not completed one (1) year of employment in the school district in which he or she is employed. ACA (3)(A)
Board may extend this by one year.
Every Classified employee is a probationary employee through the school year
No non-renewal hearings until the school year
Termination or nonrenewable - Notice
(a) The superintendent of a school district may recommend termination of an employee during the term of any contract or the nonrenewal of a full-time nonprobationary employee's contract provided that he or she gives notice in writing, personally delivered or by letter posted by registered or certified mail to the employee's residence address as reflected in the employee's personnel file.
(b) The recommendation of nonrenewal of a full-time nonprobationary employee's contract shall be made no later than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the beginning of the employee's next contract period.

28. Family Medical Leave Act
The Upside
Family Medical Leave Act
“Eligible employee" means an employee who has been employed for at least 12 months by the employer and for at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period. 29 U.S.C. § 2611
Employees are not eligible for FMLA during the school year
29 U.S.C. § 2611 Definitions: (2) Eligible employee (A) In general 
The term "eligible employee" means an employee who has been employed—
(i) for at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested under section 2612 of this title; and
(ii) for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12-month period.

29. Race to Master Facilities Plan

30. Master Facilities Plan Timeline
Nov. 14, 2014: JNPSD approved by SBE
July 1, 2015: Superintendent start date
Feb. 1, 2016: Master Facilities Plan due to DPSAFT for funding cycle
14 days prior to Plan adoption: plan must be provided to Joshua Intervenors for input.
No specific timeframe: Submission to Federal Court for approval.

31. Master Facilities Plan Timeline
Nov. 14, 2014: JNPSD approved by SBE
July 1, 2015: Superintendent start date
Sept. 18, 2015: Potential High School sites noticed to Joshua
Sept. 28, 2015: Joshua Intervenors notified of proposed Plan
Nov. 2, 2015: JNPSD Board approves Plan
Dec. 2, 2015: Plan submitted to Federal Court for Approval
Jan. 14, 2016: Federal Court approves Facilities Plan
Feb. 1, 2016: Master Facilities Plan submitted to DPSAFT for funding cycle

32. Dec. 1, 2015: draft plan due for review conference
A New Deadline
Act 962 of 2015
Dec. 1, 2015: draft plan due for review conference

33. Act 962 of 2015
In essence, this is approval or rejection of a District’s Facilities Master Plan.

34. Projects Approved by Review Conference
Partnership Funding Cycle
$217 million - State Participation Year 1 Projects
$47 million - State Participation Year 2 Projects
$264 million total for the Funding Cycle

35. Source: 7/28/16 DPSAFT Power Point

36. Source: 7/28/16 DPSAFT Power Point

37. Source: 7/28/16 DPSAFT Power Point

38. Questions? Scott Richardson 1020 W. 4th St., Suite 410
Little Rock, AR 72201 o