NJASA

Renewal or Nonrenewal of District Staff

Nontenured staff members (employees) must be provided with written notice of whether they will be renewed by May 15th.[1] Under N.J.S.A. 18A:27-4.1(b), boards, cannot renew the employment contract of certificated and non-certificated staff members without the recommendation of the chief school administrator (CSA).[2] 

The renewal/nonrenewal process is somewhat counter-intuitive regarding required board action. If the CSA recommends the renewal of an employee’s contract, that recommendation must be approved by a recorded roll call majority vote of the full membership of the board.[3] Following the recommendation, however, if the board is unable to reach the required majority for the vote, then the employee is not renewed. A board cannot withhold its approval of the CSA’s renewal recommendation for arbitrary and capricious reasons.[4] 

If, however, the CSA does not recommend the renewal of the contract of a nontenured employee, the contract is deemed nonrenewed, without further board action, provided the district follows specified procedure.[5] Specifically, once the CSA has chosen to nonrenew the employee’s contract, then s/he must notify his/her board of the nonrenewal decision, and the reasons for the same, prior to notifying the affected employee.[6] Thereafter, no formal board action need be taken. There are no specific regulations that address the timing of the CSA’s notice to the board and/or the way the notice is given. The CSA’s notice to the employee does not need to cite the reasons for the nonrenewal. The employee notice need only advise the employee that the CSA is not recommending him/her for re-employment, and that his/her employment will cease at the end of the contract term. 

However, a nontenured teaching staff member who receives a notice of nonrenewal has the right to request a written statement of reasons for the nonrenewal.[7] The request must be made within 15 days of the receipt the notice of nonrenewal.[8] In turn, within 30 days of the employee request, the CSA must provide the employee with the written statement of reasons.[9] There are no specific rules regarding the content of the CSA’s statement of reasons for nonrenewal. The statement is not required to be exhaustive, but it should give the staff member notice of his/her deficiencies. CSAs must express the reasons carefully so as not to give an employee any justification to believe that the decision is based on an illegal or discriminatory motive. 

The nonrenewed employee also has the right to request an informal appearance before the board which is also known as a Donaldson hearing.[10] Only a teaching staff member who has requested and received a statement of reasons is eligible to make such a request. The employee must request the hearing within ten calendar days of his/her receipt of the statement of reasons.[11] The board hearing must be scheduled within 30 calendar days from the date of the employee’s receipt of the statement of reasons. This hearing is not an adversarial proceeding, but the employee can bring representation of their choosing.[12] The purpose of the appearance is to provide the employee with an opportunity to convince the board to offer re-employment.[13] It is within the discretion of each board to determine a reasonable length of time for the hearing.[14] While the board may vote to overturn the CSA’s recommendation after the appearance, the board is not required to take any action.[15] 

The CSA has a key role in personnel actions; therefore, it is critical that CSAs pay close attention to the May 15^th statutory deadline. Failure to provide timely notice of nonrenewal to a nontenured teaching staff member is deemed to be an offer of continued employment by the board for the next succeeding school year.[16] Thus, an employee who is deemed to have been renewed in this manner shall be employed “upon the same terms and conditions but with such increases in salary as may be required by law or policies of the board of education.”[17] The teaching staff member, however, must affirmatively accept re-employment on or before June 1 for his/her employment to continue.[18] If the employee fails to give written notice of acceptance of continued employment by June 1, then his/her employment will cease at the end of the contract term. Accordingly, timely notices of nonrenewal are critical because inadvertent failure to meet the deadlines can result in under-performing staff members obtaining tenure. 

As always, when a question or concern arises regarding this procedure or the employee’s rights in your district, it is recommended that the CSA contact the board attorney for advice and counsel. 

[1].  N.J.S.A. 18A:27-10.

[2].  See N.J.S.A. 18A:27-4.1(b).

[3].  N.J.S.A. 18A:27-4.1(a).

[4].  Id.

[5].  Id.

[6].  N.J.S.A. 18A:27-4 

[7]  Id; N.J.S.A. 18A:27-3.2. 

[8]  N.J.S.A.18A:27-3.2. 

[9]  Id. 

[10]  See, Donaldson v. Board pf Educ. of the City of Wildwood, 65 N.J. 236 (1974). 

[11]  N.J.A.C. 6A:10-9(a). 

[12]  N.J.A.C. 6A:10-9.19(f). 

[13]  N.J.S.A. 18A:27-4.1(b); N.J.A.C. 6A:10-9.1(c). 

[14]  N.J.A.C. 6A:10-9.1(d). 

[15]  See Velasquez v. Board of Education of the Borough of Brielle, S.B. #30-96 (April 4, 1996). 

[16]  N.J.S.A.18A:27-11. 

[17]  Id. 

[18]  N.J.S.A. 18A:27-12.