Name That Section - Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

4. T HE K AVANAUGH P ROBLEM In Kavanaugh v. West Sonoma County Union High School District, 50 the plaintiff successfully challenged her classification as a temporary employee. In the case, the court addressed the meaning of Education Code section 44916 (language which parallels Section 87477 for community college districts), which requires that classification must be made “at the time of employment,” and that failure to do so results in automatic classification as a probationary employee. The court held that “at the time of employment” means that classification must occur on or before the first date of paid service. In Kavanaugh , the district’s classification of plaintiff as “temporary” two weeks after her first date of paid service was found to be untimely. Therefore, by operation of law, plaintiff was held to be a probationary employee, not a temporary employee. This strict interpretation of Section 87477 makes it essential that districts notify employees of their temporary classification before they begin paid service. In constructing seniority lists, districts should review all temporary faculty contracts and compare them to the first date of paid service. Any “temporary” employee who did not receive notice of his or her classification on or before the first day of paid service should be reclassified as a probationary employee and included on the seniority list. A. E MPLOYMENT BY A PPOINTMENT OR C ONTRACT Education Code section 72411, subdivision (a) mandates that all “educational administrators” be employed by the governing board by an appointment or contract of up to four years. The section also permits, but does not mandate, that all other administrators be employed in this manner. The parties are not required to wait until expiration of the term of an assignment or contract to revise its terms. Rather, Section 72411, subdivision (a) also provides that, with the consent of the administrator, the board can terminate the contract or assignment, effective the following July 1, and reemploy the administrator for a new term, on any terms and conditions to which they mutually agree. B. N ON - RENEWAL OF A DMINISTRATOR C ONTRACTS Under Education Code section 72411, subdivision (b), if the board decides not to reemploy an administrator at the expiration of the administrator’s appointment or contract, the board must give the administrator written notice of this determination. Where the administrator’s appointment or term is longer than a year, the notice must be given at least six months in advance of the expiration of the appointment or contract, unless the contract or appointment provide otherwise. If the appointment or term does not exceed a year, the administrator must be notified that he or she will not be reemployed for the following college year on or before March 15 th . Section 3 A DMINISTRATOR C ONTRACTS

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