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Approval Date: September 24, 2019

GB- Public Complaints

The purpose of this policy is to secure equitable solutions at the lowest possible level.

Definitions

• Complaint: a specific event or condition causing dissatisfaction and disagreement between or among the parties involved.
• Concern: a general matter that engages a person's attention, interest, care or affects a person's welfare or happiness.
• Informal concerns/complaints: verbal concerns/complaints or unsigned writtten communication of concerns/complaints.
• Formal concerns/complaints: matters brought to the attention of a school or the District through a parton concern/complaint form, a signed letter of concerns/compliants, or legal document.

Policy

• Concerns/complaints should be resolved at the lowest possible level.
• Concerns/complaints should be addressed in a timely manner.
• The Board of Education is the final arbiter for concerns/complaints that are not resolved at a lower level.
• The Board will only address concerns/complaints regarding personnel matters after the issue has been addressed by district administration or if the issue is regarding the Superintendent.
• The District and Board do not share details of discipline or remediation of staff members.

Procedures

Concerns/Complaints

• Informal concerns/complaints are to be resolved at the lowest possible level; e.g. staff member, staff memeber supervisor, building administrator, etc.
• Formal concerns/complaints should use the patron concern/complaint form and are to be resolved at the lowest possible level.
• Patron concern/complaint forms are to be acknowledged upon receipt.
• This may be done by personal contact, phone call, email or other digital method, or letter.

Individual Sutdent's Complaints/Concerns

• Matters concerning individual students should be addressed first to the staff member involved.
• Matters that are unresolved after staff member contact should be addressed to the principal.
• This may be done as an informal or formal concern/complaint.
• Formal concerns/complaints should use the Patron Concern/Complaint Form
• Matters that are unresolved at the school level may be directed as a formal concern/complaint to the district office via the patron concern/complaint form.
• Patron concern/complaint forms submitted to the Distrct after an unsatisfactory resolution at the school level will be reviewed by the Superintendent and assigned to the appropriate district office staff member for investigation.
• Anonymous or unsigned patron concern/complaint forms will be treated as an informal concern.

Individual School Concerns/Complaints

• General concerns/complaints or school climate concerns about individual schools should be directed to the principal or school community council.
• This may be done informally or formally
• Formal complaints should use the patron concern/complaint form and be submitted to the principal.
• Matters unresolved at the school level may be directed to the Superintendent as a formal complaint submitted on a patron concern/complaint form.
• Anonymous or unsigned patron concern/complaint forms will be treated as an informal concern/complaint.

Personnel Concern/Complaint

• If feasible, the complainant is encouraged to bring a concern/complaint first to the individual concerned.
• If the problem cannot be resolved with the individual concerned, it should be brought to the attention of that staff member's immediate supervisor.
• The staff member involved shall be given the opportunity to provide an explanation and presentation of the facts, as he or she perceives them.
• If the issue is not resolved by involvement of the immediate supervisor, the complainant may file a formal concern/complaint via a patron concern/complaint form to the principal.
• If the staff member is a principal or district director the patron concern/complaint form should be submitted to the Superintendent.
• If the staff member is the Superintendent the patron concern/complaint form should be submitted to the President of the Board of Education.
• Unresolved issues at the school level may be submitted to the Superintendent on a patron concern/complaint form.
• The District and Board do not share details of discipline or remediation of staff members
• Anonymous or unsigned concern/complaint forms will be treated as an informal concern.

Click here for "Patron Concern/Complaint Form"