Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 13, 1991 TAG: 9102130660
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: By NEAL THOMPSON EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The procedure is called "riffing," a colloquial term for "reduction in force," or RIF. Riffing is a method of reducing the number of employees, provided there is a good cause for their dismissal.
The procedure has not been used to dismiss a city school employee for nearly a decade, school officials say. But the Roanoke Education Association fears that state budget cuts may force cuts in school positions in coming months and that teachers may be unfairly "riffed."
The association also says the procedure is based too heavily on annual teacher performance evaluations rather than on seniority.
"They're going to be sued if they RIF teachers under an illegal system," said association Executive Director Gary Waldo. "We're real serious about this - real, real serious. We thought we buried this nine years ago."
Association President Richard Poindexter told the board at its Tuesday meeting: "This reduction-in-force procedure is an attempt to dismiss teachers indirectly without satisfying the requirements of state and federal laws."
John Fishwick, an attorney representing the teachers' group, said the procedure is full of "inequities and ambiguities."
"I ask you, the School Board, to look at this procedure closely, re-evaluate and reject it," Fishwick said.
Association members approached the board after an association attorney had assessed the procedure and said it was illegal. Waldo said the group wants decisions on dismissing employees to be based solely on seniority, not subjective evaluations, and wants the board to adopt such a policy.
But it's unlikely the board will change the procedure. "It's our position that it is legally defensible," said board attorney William X. Parsons.
Parsons said he hopes the RIF procedure won't have to be used if any positions need to be eliminated. But he added, "It could be used."
"We have a sufficient number of people retiring, so there should be no layoffs," Superintendent Frank Tota told the board.
Board Chairman James Turner said, "I don't think we'll have to use it." But he defended the procedure, saying, "Seniority is important, but the job the person does should weigh heavily" in determining who is fired.
According to the Code of Virginia, a school teacher can be riffed if enrollment declines in the school or in a particular class or if there is insufficient funding for their job. Someone laid off under the RIF procedure cannot file a grievance.
Poindexter said Roanoke's procedure goes beyond the scope of the code and includes a provision that allows them to RIF a teacher due to "structural reorganization . . . or other practical considerations."
He said under the city's procedure, an employee could be laid off for whatever the administration feels is a "practical consideration" and, since riffing can't be grieved, the employee would be denied a hearing.
Bert Rohrer, press secretary for the Attorney General's office, said the possibility of litigation prevents him from commenting on the specifics of Roanoke's procedure. But he said many school districts use RIF procedures.
by CNB