By Patrick Adrian
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LANGDON — Charlestown teachers would legally retain their longevity and seniority conditions during the transition into an independent school district, according to Charlestown’s attorney.
At Wednesday’s meeting of the Fall Mountain Withdrawal Study Committee, Charlestown members shared correspondence with their town attorney, James O’Shaughnessey, in response to a sub-committee report presented at the meeting. In July, committee member Sarah Vogel, of Alstead, said that if Charlestown leaves Fall Mountain, current Charlestown teachers would have to rebuild their seniority status from year one in Charlestown’s new district.
While this would have no impact on a teacher’s salary, as longevity-based pay scales transfer with the teacher to new districts, teachers cannot count their years in previous districts to claim “bumping rights” seniority over other teachers when a district makes layoffs. Vogel said that this might influence the decisions of teachers in Charlestown schools whether to apply for other positions in Fall Mountain or transfer into the newly formed district.
On Wednesday, committee Chair Albert St. Pierre, of Charlestown, shared excerpts from their town’s correspondence with O’Shaughnessy, who wrote that federal law guarantees employees their previous seniority privileges when transferring to the new district, at least until the district and the employees finalize a new collective bargaining agreement.
According to O’Shaughnessy, “If Charlestown hires back a reasonable number of its employees, typically more than 30% under federal law, then Charlestown will become the successor employer … as the successor employer Charlestown is responsible for honoring the terms and conditions of employment governing the employees prior to the separation, under what is called The Status Quo Doctrine.”
These protected terms, which include “wages and hours; promotions and transfers; causes for discharge; seniority grievance procedures; annual vacations; and other terms governing the employee-employer relationship, would remain in force in Charlestown until a new collective bargaining agreement with Charlestown is negotiated,” O’Shaughnessy’s letter states.
However, O’Shaughnessy stated that these employees would not remain under Fall Mountain’s collective bargaining agreement, only that until the employees negotiate a new agreement with Charlestown, the employees would still keep their previous terms and conditions.
Jim Fenn, SAU 60’s chief finance officer, confirmed the interpretation, though clarified that when Charlestown negotiates its own contracts, union rights would not allow Charlestown to base seniority on a teacher’s years in Fall Mountain.
“I believe under bumping rights under the union, seniority starts when they all started,” Fenn said. “And I don’t believe that Charlestown would have the right to give a [Fall Mountain teacher] 20 years of seniority over another with four years because we both started as employees on the same day.”
However, the Charlestown board could attach an addendum to its collective bargaining agreement for a specific employee in their school system. Fenn said that if Charlestown had a teacher who has taught in their schools for, say, 20 or 25 years and wants to finish their last five years in Charlestown, that teacher may negotiate with the Charlestown board, as a member of the teachers union, to recognize his or her loyalty and time in Fall Mountain to guarantee that teacher’s retention at a specified pay scale for the agreed number of years.
Terry Spilsbury, a member of Charlestown’s own study committee, said Charlestown intends to provide whatever contractual assurances necessary for its teachers and staff during any such transition to a new district.
“In terms of seniority and longevity, we’re going to be able to negotiate a contract with our employees that is basically designed to ensure against disruption,” Spilsbury said.
According to Spilsbury, the Charlestown committee reached out to O’Shaughnessy for legal answers following an article published in the July 11 edition of The Eagle Times (“Teacher seniority will complicate Charlestown withdrawal”), which he said raised concerns in the Charlestown community.
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