Is Your Contract Up For Renewal?  Key Deadlines Are On The Horizon 

by Malina Piontek, Attorney, LLC

Three hours after an embarrassing Packers home loss, Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy was unceremoniously fired on Sunday evening after 12 seasons in Green Bay. Black Monday came early in Green Bay. By the next morning, media reported five possible replacements for McCarthy, all coaches holding contracts with other NFL or college teams. The NFL coaching carousel has definitely started its precarious spin. 

For administrators in Wisconsin, December is similarly a time of spinning administrative personnel moves. The carousel-like activity is largely driven by the statutory contract renewal/nonrenewal process, as the first statutory deadline for that process is January 31, 2019. But by December, many school boards are already well into discussing whose contracts will be renewed or nonrenewed so that they can be sure to meet the statutory deadlines.

State law requires principal contracts to be in writing and filed with the school district clerk. It also establishes a specific process by which such contracts will be renewed, or not be renewed, commonly referred to as “nonrenewal.” This Update Bulletin will cover the essentials of Wisconsin’s administrator contract law (Wisconsin Statute 118.24, also referred to in this Update as the “administrator contract law”), and the steps you need to take to protect your contract rights. 

NONRENEWAL

In order to nonrenew a principal’s contract, the school board must comply with all of the statutory requirements, which includes strictly adhering to its timelines. As alluded to above, for most contracts, the first deadline mandated by state law for school boards to take action is rapidly approaching: Thursday, January 31, 2019.  

Let me explain what I mean by “for most contracts.” Under Wisconsin’s administrator contract statute, the timelines for renewal and nonrenewal work backwards from the date of expiration of an individual administrator’s contract. A school board must provide a principal with a preliminary notice of nonrenewal in writing by registered mail, at least five (5) months prior to the expiration of the contract.  For example, for a contract ending on June 30, 2019, the board must provide the principal with the required preliminary written notice by January 31, 2019. However, if you have a contract with a different expiration date, because, for example, you were hired later in summer, you must count backward five months from its expiration date. Assuming an expiration date of August 15, 2019, your school board must issue you a preliminary notice of nonrenewal on or before March 15, 2019. 

Keep in mind that a board may only nonrenew a contract that is in its expiration year. This means that if you have a contract that expires on June 30, 2020, you’re not on the nonrenewal bubble.

For ease of reference, now that you know how to calculate the preliminary notice date, we’ll stick with the common contract expiration date of June 30, 2019 as we explore the statutory process.

In addition to meeting the five-month date, a school board must also provide preliminary notice in writing and it must be provided by registered mail. So if a board tells you that it is issuing you preliminary notice on January 31, 2019, but doesn’t put it in writing, it has not met the minimum, mandatory statutory requirements. 

Furthermore, if the notice isn’t provided to you by registered mail on or before January 31, 2019, the board also has not met the minimum, mandatory statutory requirements. Keep in mind that registered mail is not the same as certified mail, general mail, or email. Handing you a preliminary notice does not comply with the law either.

The administrator contract law also sets forth what a preliminary notice of nonrenewal needs to say. First, the board must advise that it is considering nonrenewal of the contract. The preliminary notice is not final action. It is simply to notify the administrator that it is considering not continuing a contract for the following year. The notice must also advise that if the administrator files a written request with the board within seven days after receiving the notice, the person has a right to a hearing before the board prior to being given written notice of refusal to renew the contract. That’s all the statute requires to be included in a preliminary notice of nonrenewal. 

If an administrator receives preliminary notice of nonrenewal, s/he has the right to request a hearing before the board, as well as a right to request the reasons upon which the board is considering nonrenewal. The administrator’s request must be made within seven days after receiving the preliminary notice; and must also include a statement requesting either a private hearing or a public hearing before the board. When an administrator requests the reasons that the board is considering nonrenewal, the board must provide them in writing to the individual prior to the hearing. 

The law provides that no person may be dismissed except by a majority vote of the full membership of the school board. Thus, the vote on a contract nonrenewal must be approved by a majority vote of the full membership of the board, even if all of the school board members are not present at the meeting. 

Ultimately the board must issue a final notice of contract nonrenewal. Final notice must be given at least four (4) months prior to the expiration of the individual’s contract, or Thursday, February 28, 2019. 

RENEWAL

If a school board fails to meet either of these two key dates – January 31 or February 28 – that board may not move forward with nonrenewal.  If your current contract expires on June 30, 2019, and January 31 rolls around but you haven’t received a preliminary notice in writing by registered mail, great news! Your administrator contract is intact. And there’s even more good news - not only is your contract in place for the upcoming school year, but, by operation of the administrator contract law, your contract rolled for two years! 

The administrator contract law specifically provides that if no notice is given by a board, the contract then in force shall continue in force for two years. This is true even if the original contract was only for one year. However, the downside is that the “contract then in force” continues as is, unless modified by the parties. This means that you should be prepared to discuss changes to your contract with the board, such as your salary. Once changes have been agreed upon, a new contract should be issued and signed by both parties. 

When a contract rolls by operation of the administrator contract law, a principal should advise the board in writing whether s/he accepts or rejects the contract. The law provides a timeline by which a principal needs to do that, which is three (3) months prior to the contract expiration. 

Therefore, using our standard example, it is recommended that a principal notify the board in writing on or before Friday, March 29, 2019, that s/he accepts or rejects a two-year contract covering the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 contract years. (March 30, 2019, falls on the weekend, so to be safe, it is best to submit your notice by Friday, March, 29.) 

While there is no case law addressing this specific part of the administrator contract law, a principal puts him- or herself at risk by not writing to the board by the deadline to inform it that s/he accepts the two-year contract. A board could argue that failure to provide the board with written notice by the deadline voids the contract. In short, provide the board with written notice that you accept a two-year contract before Friday, March 29, 2019. It may feel awkward to write to the board rather than your superintendent, but the law requires you to do so. 

Here is a sample letter to use: 

(Date on or before March 30, 2019)

(Name and address of school district)

Attention:  (School district clerk)

RE: Contract Ending June 30. 2019

Dear_______________________:

My employment contract as (position title) expires on June 30, 2019.

Since I have not yet received a new contract, I am providing notice pursuant to section 118.24(6) of the Wisconsin Statutes that I accept an extension of my contract for an additional two years.

I would like to meet with the Board as soon as convenient to discuss the terms of my new contract as well as an adjustment of my compensation and benefits.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to finalizing the terms of my new contract.

Sincerely yours,

(signature)

(date on or before March 30, 2019)

C: Superintendent

As you can see from the sample letter, this is the time to renegotiate substantive provisions and clarify any unclear language in your contract. School boards may not make unilateral changes in an administrator contract, as the law specifically references mutual modification by the parties rather than unilateral modification by the board. Substantive changes which must be agreed to by both parties include items such as salary, number of contract days, contributions to health insurance premiums, number of sick and vacation days, reimbursement for tuition, and early retirement provisions. 

Pay attention to other provisions in the contract that may need to be modified or re-negotiated at renewal time, such as professional development, attendance at conferences, job title and description, liquidated damages in the event of a contract breach, post-retirement benefits and standards for dismissal (whether just cause, arbitrary and capricious or another standard).  

As is the case for nonrenewal, the law likewise provides that no person may be employed except by a majority vote of the full membership of the school board. Thus, a vote on the renewal of a contract, or the offer of a new or modified contract, must be approved by a full majority of the board.

In sum, if this is the last year of your contract and it expires on June 30, 2019, mark these dates in your calendar: 

January 31, 2019, Preliminary Notice of Nonrenewal

February 28, 2019, Final Notice of Nonrenewal

March 29, 2019, Written Notice to the Board Accepting or Rejecting Contract 

If you have any questions about your contract, or the renewal/nonrenewal process, call me at the Hotline or email me at [email protected]. I’d be happy to answer your questions!

This article was written by Attorney Malina Piontek, AWSA’s Level I Legal Services Provider. You may direct your Level I call-in questions to Malina at 608-497-3037. The views expressed herein are exclusively those of Ms. Piontek. This article was designed to provide you with general authoritative information and with commentary as a service to AWSA members. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. You are encouraged to contact your district legal counsel should you require legal advice regarding this topic. 

 

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