Key Administrative Contract Deadlines Approaching

By: Malina Piontek, Attorney

Wisconsin law requires school boards to contract with administrators in writing as well as to comply with specific contract renewal and nonrenewal procedures and deadlines.  Many school boards begin administrative staff planning in December for the upcoming July 1 to June 30 school year. This Update will cover the essentials of Wisconsin’s administrator contract law and the steps that need to be taken to protect your contract rights. 

Statutory Requirement for Written Administrator Contracts

State law requires principal contracts to be in writing and filed with the school district clerk. The term of each contract may not exceed two years, and one-year contracts are permitted. Two-year contracts may provide for “one or more extensions of one year each.”   The statute also sets forth the procedure for school boards to use when nonrenewing administrator contracts 

Nonrenewal

In order to nonrenew an administrator’s contract, the school board must comply with all of the statutory requirements, which includes strictly adhering to its timelines. Under Wisconsin’s administrator contract statute, the timelines for renewal and nonrenewal work backwards from the expiration date of an individual administrator’s contract. A school board may only nonrenew a contract when it is in its expiration year.

A board must provide a principal with a preliminary notice of nonrenewal in writing by registered mail, at least five (5) months prior to the expiration of the contract.  For example, for a contract ending on June 30, 2021, the board must provide the required preliminary written notice by January 31, 2021. However, if the contract has a different expiration date, one counts backward five months from its expiration date to determine the date by which preliminary notice of nonrenewal must be sent. For example, assuming an expiration date of August 15, 2021, the school board must issue a preliminary notice of nonrenewal on or before March 15, 2021.

In addition to meeting the five-month date, a school board must also provide preliminary notice in writing and it must be provided by registered mail. If a school board or the superintendent verbally advises that a preliminary notice will be issued, but doesn’t put it in writing, the minimum, mandatory statutory requirements have not been met.

Furthermore, if the notice isn’t provided by registered mail on or before January 31, 2021, the board also has not met the minimum, mandatory statutory requirements. Keep in mind that registered mail is not the same as certified mail, general mail, or email. Personal delivery, for example by the superintendent, does not comply with the law either.

The administrator contract law also sets forth what a preliminary notice of nonrenewal needs to say. In the preliminary notice, the board must advise that it is considering not continuing the administrator’s contract for the next contract year. Keep in mind that the preliminary notice is not final action, as administrators have a right to request a hearing regarding the possibility of nonrenewal. To that end, the notice must specifically advise that if the administrator files a written request with the board within seven days after receiving the notice, the administrator has a right to a hearing before the board. The statute does not specify whether the seven-day requirement is seven calendar days or seven business days.  To preserve your rights, it is wise to use seven calendar days.

The administrator who receives preliminary notice of nonrenewal also has the right to request the reasons for which the board is considering nonrenewal. The administrator’s request must be made within the same seven-day period referenced above. It is recommended that the written request for a hearing also include a request for the reasons upon which the board is considering nonrenewal. Be sure to also specify whether you want a public or private hearing. In response to your request, board must provide the reasons for the nonrenewal in writing prior to the hearing.

The law provides that no person may be dismissed except by a majority vote of the full membership of the school board. Thus, the vote on a contract nonrenewal must be approved by a majority vote of the full membership of the board, even if all of the school board members are not present at the meeting. This is one reason that boards start their planning by December: so that they can find a time to hold a hearing when all board members can attend.

Ultimately the board must issue a final notice of contract nonrenewal. Final notice must be given at least four months prior to the contract’s expiration, or, with a contract that expires on June 30, 2021, Sunday, February 28, 2021. Unlike preliminary notice, the statute does not require final notice to be provided by registered mail, but does require notice to be in writing.

Contract Renewal

For a contract that expires on June 30, 2021, if a school board fails to meet either of these two key dates – January 31 or February 28 – the board may not move forward with nonrenewal.  If your current contract expires on June 30, 2021, and January 31 rolls around but you haven’t received a preliminary notice in writing by registered mail, your administrator contract is intact. Furthermore, not only is your contract in place for the upcoming school year, but, by operation of the administrator contract law, your contract rolled for two years.

A school board can also affirmatively renew an administrator contract by giving at least four months’ notice (from the expiration date as discussed above) in writing of the board’s intent to renew the contract. 

When the board takes no action to renew or nonrenew the contract, the current contract is automatically extended for two years, even if the original contract was only for one year. Therefore, if the board fails to act, or misses a deadline, an administrator should not automatically accept a one-year contract, because of the two-year roll. However, the downside is that the “contract then in force” (the words of the statute) continues as is, unless modified by the parties. Therefore, it is best to be prepared to discuss changes to your contract with the board, such as your salary. Once changes have been agreed upon, a new contract should be issued and signed by both parties.

Contract Acceptance

Regardless of whether the board provides notice of renewal, or provides no notice at all, the administrator must accept or reject the renewal or automatic extension of his/her contract in writing at least three months prior to the contract expiration; or, using our June 30, 2021, contract date, by March 30, 2021. While there is no case law addressing this specific part of the administrator contract law, an administrator puts him/herself at risk by not writing to the board by the deadline to accept the two-year contract. A board could argue that failure to provide it with written notice by the deadline voids the contract. In short, provide the board with written notice that you accept a two-year contract before March 30, 2021. 

Here is a sample letter to use as a guide to accept a new two-year contract.

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