Butte School District

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

5120

Hiring Process and Criteria

The Superintendent and/or the human resources/personnel manager is responsible for recruiting personnel, in compliance with Board policy, and making hiring recommendations to the Board. The Director of Human Resources initially screens educational support personnel applicants. The District will hire highly qualified personnel, consistent with budget and staffing requirements, and comply with Board policy and state law on equal employment opportunities and veterans’ preferences. All applicants must complete a District application form in order to be considered for employment.

Each applicant must provide written authorization for a criminal background investigation. The human resources/personnel manager will keep a conviction record confidential, as required by law and District policy. The human resource department will create a determination sheet from the criminal history record.  The determination sheet will be kept on file at the human resource office.  The Criminal History Record with no disqualifiers will be shredded on site immediately after review.  The Criminal History Record with disqualifiers will be retained on file at the human resource office according to law.  Each newly hired employee must complete an Immigration and Naturalization Service form, as required by federal law.

Certification

The District will require that its contracted certificated staff hold a valid Montana teacher or specialist certificate endorsed for the role and responsibilities for which they are employed. Failure to meet this requirement will be just cause for termination of employment. No salary warrants may be issued to the staff member, unless a valid certificate for the role to which the teacher has been assigned has been registered with the county superintendent within sixty (60) calendar days after the term of service begins. Each contracted teacher and administrator will bring his or her current, valid certificate to the personnel office at the time of initial employment, as well as at the time of each renewal of certification.

The Superintendent’s Office will register all certificates, noting the class and endorsement and updating the permanent record card as necessary. In addition, the personnel office will retain a copy of each contracted certificated employee’s valid certificate in the employee’s personnel file.

Every newly hired employee must provide the District immunization record of Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), authorization to access the Department of Public Health and Human Services’ Immunization Information System (IIS), or a declination of MMR Vaccination Form.  

Reference Checks

The Board authorizes the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee to inquire of past employers about an applicant’s employment on topics including but not limited to:  title, role, and reason for leaving, work ethic, punctuality, demeanor, collegiality, putting the interests of students first, and suitability for the position in the District.  Responses to these inquiries should be documented and considered as part of the screening and hiring process.

Cross Reference:
5122  Fingerprints and Criminal Background Investigations

Legal Reference:
§ 20-4-202, MCA Teacher and specialist certification registration
§ 39-29-102, MCA Point preference or alternative preference in initial hiring for certain applicants - - substantially equivalent selection procedure
 

Policy History:
Adopted on: 10/18/04
Revised on: 3/22/16, 11/20/17, 3/16/2020