To amend sections 3316.06 and 3319.02 of the Revised Code to permit a school board to enter into administrative contracts with nonlicensed employees who are considered to be supervisory or management level employees for purposes of collective bargaining, to permit a school district that has been declared to be in a state of fiscal emergency to issue, following approval of the district voters of a new operating levy and approval of such school district's financial planning and supervision commission, securities not to exceed ten years for the purpose of restructuring or refinancing its outstanding debt obligations, and to declare an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Sec. 3316.06. (A) Within sixty days after the first meeting of a school district financial planning and supervision commission, the commission shall adopt a financial recovery plan regarding the school district for which the commission was created. During the formulation of the plan, the commission shall seek appropriate input from the school district board and from the community. This plan shall contain the following:

(1) Actions to be taken to:

(a) Eliminate all fiscal emergency conditions declared to exist pursuant to division (B) of section 3316.03 of the Revised Code;

(b) Satisfy any judgments, past due accounts payable, and all past due and payable payroll and fringe benefits;

(c) Eliminate the deficits in all deficit funds;

(d) Restore to special funds any moneys from such funds that were used for purposes not within the purposes of such funds, or borrowed from such funds by the purchase of debt obligations of the school district with the moneys of such funds, or missing from the special funds and not accounted for, if any;

(e) Balance the budget, avoid future deficits in any funds, and maintain on a current basis payments of payroll, fringe benefits, and all accounts;

(f) Avoid any fiscal emergency condition in the future;

(g) Restore the ability of the school district to market long-term general obligation bonds under provisions of law applicable to school districts generally.

(2) The management structure that will enable the school district to take the actions enumerated in division (A)(1) of this section. The plan shall specify the level of fiscal and management control that the commission will exercise within the school district during the period of fiscal emergency, and shall enumerate respectively, the powers and duties of the commission and the powers and duties of the school board during that period. The commission may elect to assume any of the powers and duties of the school board it considers necessary, including all powers related to personnel, curriculum, and legal issues in order to successfully implement the actions described in division (A)(1) of this section.

(3) The target dates for the commencement, progress upon, and completion of the actions enumerated in division (A)(1) of this section and a reasonable period of time expected to be required to implement the plan. The commission shall prepare a reasonable time schedule for progress toward and achievement of the requirements for the plan, and the plan shall be consistent with that time schedule.

(4) The amount and purpose of any issue of debt obligations that will be issued, together with assurances that any such debt obligations that will be issued will not exceed debt limits supported by appropriate certifications by the fiscal officer of the school district and the county auditor. DEBT OBLIGATIONS ISSUED PURSUANT TO SECTION 133.301 of the Revised Code SHALL INCLUDE ASSURANCES THAT SUCH DEBT SHALL BE IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED THE AMOUNT CERTIFIED UNDER DIVISION (B) OF SUCH SECTION. If the commission considers it necessary in order to maintain or improve educational opportunities of pupils in the school district, the plan may include a proposal to restructure or refinance outstanding debt obligations incurred by the board UNDER SECTION 3313.483 of the Revised Code contingent upon the approval, during the period of the fiscal emergency, by district voters of a tax levied under section 718.09, 718.10, 5705.194, 5705.21, or 5748.02 of the Revised Code, THAT IS NOT A RENEWAL OR REPLACEMENT LEVY AND THAT WILL PROVIDE NEW OPERATING REVENUE. Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 133. or sections 3313.483 through 3313.4811 of the Revised Code, FOLLOWING THE REQUIRED APPROVAL OF THE DISTRICT VOTERS AND WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE COMMISSION, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY ISSUE SECURITIES TO EVIDENCE the restructuring or refinancing. THOSE SECURITIES may extend the original period for repayment, NOT TO EXCEED TEN YEARS, and may alter the frequency and amount of repayments, interest or other financing charges, and other terms of agreements under which the debt originally was contracted, at the discretion of the commission, provided that any loans received pursuant to section 3313.483 of the Revised Code shall be paid from funds the district would otherwise receive under sections 3317.022 to 3317.025 of the Revised Code, as required under division (E)(3) of section 3313.483 of the Revised Code. THE SECURITIES ISSUED FOR THE PURPOSE OF RESTRUCTURING OR REFINANCING THE DEBT SHALL BE REPAID IN EQUAL PAYMENTS AND AT EQUAL INTERVALS OVER THE TERM OF THE DEBT AND ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE INCLUDED IN ANY SUBSEQUENT PROPOSAL FOR THE PURPOSE OF RESTRUCTURING OR REFINANCING DEBT UNDER THIS SECTION.

(B) Any financial recovery plan may be amended subsequent to its adoption. EACH FINANCIAL RECOVERY PLAN SHALL BE UPDATED ANNUALLY.

Sec. 3319.02. (A) As used in this section, "other administrator" means any employee in a position for which a board of education requires a license designated for being an administrator, other than a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, or assistant principal, issued under section 3319.22 of the Revised Code OR ANY NONLICENSED EMPLOYEE WHOSE JOB DUTIES ENABLE SUCH EMPLOYEE TO BE CONSIDERED AS EITHER A "SUPERVISOR" OR A "MANAGEMENT LEVEL EMPLOYEE," AS DEFINED IN SECTION 4117.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) The board of education of each school district and the governing board of an educational service center may appoint one or more assistant superintendents and such other administrators as are necessary. An assistant educational service center superintendent or service center supervisor employed on a part-time basis may also be employed by a local board as a teacher. The board of each city, exempted village, and local school district shall employ principals for all high schools and for such other schools as the board designates, and those boards may appoint assistant principals for any school that they designate.

(C) In educational service centers and in city and exempted village school districts, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and other administrators shall only be employed or reemployed in accordance with nominations of the superintendent except that a city or exempted village board of education or the governing board of a service center, by a three-fourths vote, may reemploy any assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator whom the superintendent refuses to nominate after considering two nominees for the position. In local school districts, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and other administrators shall only be employed or reemployed in accordance with nominations of the superintendent of the service center of which the local district is a part except that a local board of education, by a majority vote, may reemploy any assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator whom such superintendent refuses to nominate after considering two nominees for the position.

The board of education or governing board shall execute a written contract of employment with each assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, and other administrator it employs or reemploys. The term of such contract shall not exceed three years except that in the case of a person who has been employed as an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator in the district or center for three years or more, the term of the contract shall be for not more than five years and, unless the superintendent of the district recommends otherwise, not less than two years. If the superintendent so recommends, the term of the contract of a person who has been employed by the district or service center as an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator for three years or more may be one year, but all subsequent contracts granted such person shall be for a term of not less than two years and not more than five years. When a teacher with continuing service status becomes an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator with the district or service center with which the teacher holds continuing service status, the teacher retains such status in the teacher's nonadministrative position as provided in sections 3319.08 and 3319.09 of the Revised Code.

A board of education or governing board may reemploy an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator at any regular or special meeting held during the period beginning on the first day of January of the calendar year immediately preceding the year of expiration of the employment contract and ending on the last day of March of the year the employment contract expires.

Except by mutual agreement of the parties thereto, no assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator shall be transferred during the life of a contract to a position of lesser responsibility. No contract may be terminated or suspended by a board except pursuant to section 3319.16 or 3319.17 of the Revised Code. The salaries and compensation prescribed by such contracts shall not be reduced by a board unless such reduction is a part of a uniform plan affecting the entire district or center. The contract shall specify the employee's administrative position and duties, the salary and other compensation to be paid for performance of duties, the number of days to be worked, the number of days of vacation leave, if any, and any paid holidays in the contractual year.

An assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator is, at the expiration of the current term of employment, deemed reemployed at the same salary plus any increments that may be authorized by the board, unless such employee notifies the board in writing to the contrary on or before the first day of June, or unless such board, on or before the last day of March of the year in which the contract of employment expires, either reemploys such employee for a succeeding term or gives written notice of its intention not to reemploy the employee. The term of reemployment of a person reemployed under this paragraph shall be one year, except that if such person has been employed by the school district or service center as an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator for three years or more, the term of reemployment shall be two years.

(D) Each board shall adopt procedures for the evaluation of all assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and other administrators and shall evaluate such employees in accordance with those procedures. The evaluation based upon such procedures shall be considered by the board in deciding whether to renew the contract of employment of an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator. The evaluation shall measure each assistant superintendent's, principal's, assistant principal's, and other administrator's effectiveness in performing the duties included in the job description and the evaluation procedures shall provide for, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) Each assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, and other administrator shall be evaluated annually through a written evaluation process.

(2) The evaluation shall be conducted by the superintendent or designee.

(3) In order to provide time to show progress in correcting the deficiencies identified in the evaluation process the completed evaluation shall be received by the employee at least sixty days prior to any action by the board on the employee's contract of employment.

Termination or suspension of an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator's contract shall be pursuant to section 3319.16 or 3319.17 of the Revised Code.

The establishment of an evaluation procedure shall not create an expectancy of continued employment. Nothing in this section shall prevent a board from making the final determination regarding the renewal of or failure to renew the contract of any assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator.

Before taking action to renew or nonrenew the contract of an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator under this section and prior to the last day of March of the year in which such employee's contract expires, the board shall notify each such employee of the date that the contract expires and that the employee may request a meeting with the board. Upon request by such an employee, the board shall grant the employee a meeting in executive session to discuss the reasons for considering renewal or nonrenewal of the contract.

(E) On nomination of the superintendent of a service center a governing board may employ supervisors who shall be employed under written contracts of employment for terms not to exceed five years each. Such contracts may be terminated by a governing board pursuant to section 3319.16 of the Revised Code. Any supervisor employed pursuant to this division may terminate the contract of employment at the end of any school year after giving the board at least thirty days' written notice prior to such termination. On the recommendation of the superintendent the contract or contracts of any supervisor employed pursuant to this division may be suspended for the remainder of the term of any such contract if there is a reduction of the number of approved supervisory teacher units allocated to the service center pursuant to division (D) of section 3317.05 of the Revised Code, or pursuant to section 3319.17 of the Revised Code.

(F) A board may establish vacation leave for any individuals employed under this section. Upon such an individual's separation from employment, a board that has such leave may compensate such an individual at the individual's current rate of pay for all lawfully accrued and unused vacation leave credited at the time of separation, not to exceed the amount accrued within three years before the date of separation. In case of the death of an individual employed under this section, such unused vacation leave as the board would have paid to the individual upon separation under this section shall be paid in accordance with section 2113.04 of the Revised Code, or to the estate.