Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com
Jay Classroom Teachers Association prevailed Friday in an appeal contesting terms of a teachers’ contract adopted as the last best offer from Jay School Corporation.
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that the order of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board affirmed by a trial court contained errors.
“We find … a teacher can receive additional compensation for ancillary duties, and that covering another teacher’s class during the normal workday can be a compensable ancillary duty outside the scope of normal teaching duties — where both parties agreed to the same additional-compensation provision and included it in their respective LBOs,†Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik wrote for the panel in Jay Classroom Teachers Association v. Jay School Corporation and Indiana Education Employment Relation Board, 49A05-1412-PL-586.
Likewise, the panel ruled the board erred by permitting a practice in the Jay teachers’ contract that violated state law. The court ruled that a provision allowing the school superintendent to set salaries of teachers hired after the beginning of the school year “was impermissible and should have been stricken by the Board,†Vaidik wrote.
“Accordingly, we reverse the trial court and remand to the Board for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.â€
