ST. LOUIS — The amount of money Missouri teachers are being asked to pay for breaking employment contracts, otherwise known as liquidated damages, is on the increase, according to teacher advocate groups.
Hancock Place School District Superintendent Kevin Carl discussed a recent case where a teacher walked away from her contract.
“This is the first time in 13 years we’ve ever encountered it,” Carl said, “and it was the uniqueness of the individual situation. We presented it to the state board of education, for them to consider whether any disciplinary action was appropriate. They reviewed the situation and decided in this case it was not.”
The Missouri State Teachers Association advocates for more than 40,000 teachers in Missouri. Kyle Farmer serves as that organization’s senior attorney.
“It doesn't cost any school district $10,000 to find a replacement,” Farmer said. “That's ludicrous.”
Farmer said the state board of education at times includes such liquidated damages in a teacher’s contract. That’s a fee for breaking the contract to take a new teaching job.
“That $10,000 number is not real,” Farmer said. “It's not a real liquidated damages number. It is a deterrent. It's really a punishment for trying to get out of your contract. And that's not what liquidated damages are for. So, my biggest concern is that the contractual dollar amount is going up and, in some cases, districts are going after teachers’ licenses, as well. That's a concern because you're going after somebody's livelihood.”
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Communications Director Mallory McGowin said, “In addition to determining what, if any fiscal penalties are to be incurred by an educator who breaks their contract, the local school district also determines if it will refer the matter to DESE for discipline against the teacher’s certification (i.e. revoking or suspending their teaching certificate).”
McGowin said the Missouri State Board of Education is not a party to that action but merely acts as a decision-maker.
“That is the only role DESE and the State Board of Education play in a situation where an educator has broken their contract,” McGowin said.
In Missouri, school boards must offer teachers contracts for the following school year by May 15.
Farmer said some school districts moved that date up to February or March. Farmer says if a teacher signs a new contract in March, he or she is locked in for the next school year. Then if they get another teaching job offer, they have to break a contract that they signed in March for a position that doesn’t start until August.
“Districts are using that earlier timeframe to lock their teachers in,” said Farmer, “and then on the back side of that is - well, if you want to get out of your contract, you have to pay us $3,000, or $5,000.”
Those are estimates.
“You know, we’re to the point where somebody is going to have to challenge it in court, right?” Farmer said. “Somebody is going to have to go to court and say either this practice is being used improperly, or the dollar figure is too much - something along those lines. We haven't gotten there yet.”
Farmer said smaller districts are less likely to allow a teacher to break a contract.
“That’s just because that’s how the world works,” he said. “It’s harder for smaller districts to find replacement teachers or to fill openings.”
Farmer referred to a school district’s ability to petition the state board of education to go after a teacher’s license.
“That could result in a suspension for a year or two years,” he said. “It could be a revocation. I mean a teacher could lose his or her teaching license and not be able to teach again in the state of Missouri.”
At Hancock Place, Carl said contracts have consequences.
“Because this really isn’t about the teacher,” Carl said. “It’s about providing for and supporting students and making sure they have an adult. Parents need to know they have a highly qualified person working with their kid, every day.”
Farmer said he believes fewer teachers being available is forcing education officials to increase the dollar amount for breaking a contract. He believes school districts are using high dollar figures in those liquidation damages as a disincentive and an intimidation tactic to keep teachers.