It is the policy of the School Board to attempt to pay its administrators at a level which will attract and hold people with administrative ability who can exercise professional leadership in the school district.
If, at the commencement of the scholastic year, any licensed employee shall present to the Superintendent a license of a higher grade than that specified in such individual's contract, such individual may, if funds are available from minimum education program funds of the district, or from district funds, be paid from such funds the amount to which such higher grade license would have entitled the individual, had the license been held at the time the contract was executed.
' 37-9-17 (1997)
CONTRACT FORM AND EXECUTION
The Superintendent shall enter into a contract with each assistant superintendent, principal, licensed employee and person anticipating graduation from an approved teacher education program or the issuance of a proper license before October 15 or February 15, as the case may be, who is elected and approved for employment by the School Board. Such contracts shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the State Board of Education and shall be executed in a duplicate with one (1) copy to be retained by the appropriate Superintendent and one (1) copy to be retained by the principal, licensed employee or person recommended for a licensed position contracted with. The contract shall show the name of the district, the length of the school term, the position held, whether an assistant superintendent, principal or licensed employee, the scholastic years which it covers, the total amount of the annual salary and how same is payable. The amount of salary to be shown in such contract shall be the amount which shall have been fixed and determined by the School Board, but as to the licensed employees paid in whole or in part with minimum education program funds, such salary shall not be less than that required under the provisions of Chapter 19 of this title. The contract entered into with any person recommended for a licensed position who is anticipating either graduation from an approved teacher education program before September 1 or December 31, as the case may be, or the issuance of a proper license before October 15 or February 15, as the case may be, shall be a conditional contract and shall include a provision stating that the contract will be null and void, if as specified in the contract, the contingency upon which the contract is conditioned has not occurred. If any principal, licensed employee or other person recommended for a licensed position who has been elected and approved shall not execute and return the contract within ten (10) days after same has been tendered to him for execution, then, at the option of the School Board, the election of the licensed employee and the contract tendered to him shall be null and void and of no effect. ' 37-9-23 (1998)
LENGTH OF CONTRACT
No school district shall contract with any licensed personnel for less than one hundred eighty-seven (187) days. Licensed personnel may be employed for less than a full school year if the contract states the exact period of time for which the licensed person is to be employed.
' 37-9-24 (1997)
The School Board shall have the power and authority, in its discretion to employ principals or licensed employees for not exceeding three (3) scholastic years. In such case, contracts shall be entered into with such principals and licensed employees for the number of years for which they have been employed. All such contracts with licensed employees shall for the years after the first year thereof be subject to the contingency that the licensed employee may be released if, during the life of the contract, the average daily attendance should decrease from that existing during the previous year and thus necessitate a reduction in the number of licensed employees during any year after the first year of the contract. However, in all such cases the licensed employee must be released before July 1 or at least thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the school term, whichever date should occur earlier. The salary to be paid for the years after the first year of such contract shall be subject to revision, either upward or downward, in the event of an increase or decrease in the funds available for payment thereof, but, unless such salary is revised prior to the beginning of a school year, it shall remain for such school year at the amount fixed in such contract. However, where school district funds, other than minimum education program funds, are available during the school year in excess of the amount anticipated at the beginning of the school year the salary to be paid for such year may be increased to the extent, that such additional funds are available and nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit same. ' 37-9-25 (1997)
In employing and contracting with principals and licensed employees, the School Board shall in all cases determine whether the amount of salary to be paid such principal and licensed employee in compliance with the provisions of Chapter 19 of this title. No contract shall be entered into where the salary of a principal or licensed employee is to be paid in whole or in part from minimum education program funds except where the requirements of said chapter as to the amount of such salary are fully met. Nothing herein shall be construed, however, to prohibit any school district from increasing the salaries of principals and licensed employees above the amounts fixed by said chapter, provided that the amount of such increase is paid from funds available to such district other than minimum program funds. ' 37-9-33 (1997)
AMOUNT OF SALARY
The amount of the salary to be paid any principal or licensed employee shall be fixed by the School Board, provided that the requirements of Chapter 19 of this title are met as to principals and licensed employees paid in whole or in part from minimum education program funds. In employing such principals or licensed employees and in fixing their salaries the School Board shall take into consideration the character, professional training, experience, executive ability and teaching capacity of the licensed employee or principal. ' 37-9-37 (1997)
SALARY PAY SCHEDULE
Salary or wages paid to any employee of any school shall be paid on a basis as determined by the local school board of each school district, except for December, when salaries or wages shall be paid by the last working day. Salaries or wages shall be paid at a minimum on a monthly basis. Any school employee whose employment ends during a school term, regardless of the reason(s) the employment ended, shall be paid salary or wages only for that portion of the school term that employee actually worked. Nothing in this section shall be construed to entitle any employee to payment of salary or wages when no work has been performed. ' 37-9-39 (2003)
PAY CERTIFICATES
The salaries of principals and licensed employees shall be paid by pay certificates issued by the School District Superintendent. Such pay certificates may be issued without additional authorization of the School Board where the amount of salary has been fixed and a contract entered into as is provided in this chapter. All pay ce rtificates shall be preserved by him as a part of the official records of his/her office for the same time and in the same manner as other records are preserved. Except as is herein provided, the said warrants shall be governed in all respects by the same laws regulating the issuance of other warrants for other purposes. All pay certificates and warrants issued shall show the gross amount of the salary and all authorized deductions therefrom for income taxes, social security, retirement contributions and other lawful purposes.
' 37-9-41 (1997)
EXECUTED CONTRACT REQUIRED
It shall be unlawful for any principal or licensed employee to be paid for any services as such until a written contract has been executed as is provided and required by this chapter. If any School District Superintendent shall make any such payment prior to the execution of the contract he shall be civilly liable for the amount thereof, and, in addition, shall be liable upon his/her bond. If any licensed employee, or principal shall willfully and without just cause breach his/her contract and abandon his/her employment he/she shall not be entitled to any further salary payments either for services rendered prior to such breach or for services which were thereafter to have been rendered. Nothing in this section, however, shall prevent the employment and payment of substitute teachers without a written contract. ' 37-9-43 (1997)
SALARY DEDUCTIONS
It shall be unlawful for the Superintendent of Schools to deduct or permit to be deducted from the salary of any principal or licensed employee any dues, fines or penalties payable or alleged to be payable because of the membership of such principal or licensed employee in any organization or association. However, dues or premiums in health associations or corporations and tax sheltered annuity deductions authorized by the United States Internal Revenue Code may be deducted upon written authorization from the licensed employee involved. Any Superintendent of Schools who shall make any such deduction or permit any such deduction to be made, except those herein provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for each such deduction. ' 37-9-49 (1997)
RELEASE FROM CONTRACT
Any principal or licensed employee in any public school who is under contract to teach or perform other duties and who desires to be released from such contract shall make application in writing to the School Board of the school district for release therefrom, in which application the reasons for such release shall be clearly stated. If the Board acts favorably upon such application for release, such principal or licensed employee shall be released from his/her contract, and said contract shall be null and void on the date specified in the School Board's order. ' 37-9-55 (1997)
BREACH OF CONTRACT
If any principal or licensed employee in the school district shall arbitrarily or willfully breach his or her contract and abandon his or her employment without being released therefrom as provided in Section 37-9-55, the contract of such principal or licensed employee shall be null and void. In addition thereto the license or certificate of such principal or licensed employee may be suspended by the State Board of Education for a period of one (1) school year as provided in Section 37-3-2 (8) upon the written recommendation of the majority of the members of the School Board of the school district involved. ' 37-9-57 (1997)
PROHIBITED ACTION
The School Board is hereby prohibited from denying employment or reemployment to any person as principal or licensed employee, as defined in Section 37-19-1, or as a non-instructional personnel, as defined in Section 37-9-1, for the single reason that any eligible child of each person does not attend the school system in which such superintendent, principal, licensed employee or non-instructional personnel is employed. ' 37-9-59 (1997)
LEGAL REF.: MS CODE as cited
ADOPTED: 03/04/1987
REVISED: 08/10/1993
09/09/1997
05/09/2000
05/29/2001
04/10/2003
06/22/2004