Policies » Section K: School/Community - Home Relations » KEB: Public Complaints About School Personnel

Policy Date: 12/04/2012

HSD File: KEB
HOOKSETT SCHOOL DISTRICT
PUBLIC COMPLAINTS ABOUT SCHOOL PERSONNEL, EMPLOYEES, STUDENTS OR
ADMINISTRATION

Any complaint presented to the Board about school personnel, employees, students or
administration, will be referred back to the Superintendent. The Board will not hear or review
complaints until such complaints have first been brought forth through the appropriate and
applicable administrative procedures and the Superintendent or his/her designee has had a
reasonable opportunity to seek to resolve the complaint.

The Board may decline to hear any complaint, which will interfere with its ability to serve as an
impartial trier of fact in any related student or personnel matter. This complaint procedure shall
not supersede or modify any right held by employees of the District under federal law, state
law, contract, or collective bargaining agreement.

To the extent it is deemed appropriate by the Superintendent, the individual who is the subject
of the complaint may be advised of the nature of the complaint and may be given an
opportunity for explanation, comment, and presentation of the facts. The Superintendent shall
seek to resolve the matter and report to the Board.

Complaints about the Superintendent may be made directly to the Board Chair, but only after
reasonable efforts have been made by the complaining party to resolve their complaint directly
with the Superintendent. The Board may, to the extent it is appropriate, advise the
Superintendent of the nature of the complaint and may give the Superintendent an opportunity
for explanation, comment, and presentation of facts.

In the event a complaint is made directly to an individual Board member, the procedure
outlined below shall be followed:
1. The Board member shall refer the person making the complaint to the
Superintendent for investigation. The Superintendent may delegate the investigation to
a Principal or other administrator.
2. If the member of the public will not personally present the complaint to the
Superintendent or Principal, the Board member shall then ask that the complaint be
written and signed. The Board member will then refer the complaint to the
Superintendent for investigation.
3. If the person making a complaint believes that a satisfactory reply has not been
received from the Superintendent, he or she may request that the Board hear the
complaint. The Board will hear and act upon the complaint only by majority vote. The
Board may decline to act on any complaint which, in its sole judgment, would interfere
with the Superintendent’s ability to properly administer the district. If the Board does
hear and act upon the complaint, all Board decisions shall be final.
4. If the Board decides, in accord with Paragraph Three, to hear and act upon a
complaint that pertains to personnel, employee, student or administrative matters, it
shall determine whether the complaint shall be heard in public or non-public session in
accord with RSA 91-A:3 and the laws pertaining to student and family privacy rights.
The Board shall also determine whether it is appropriate to inform the individual who is
the subject of the complaint of the meeting and to provide said individual with further
opportunity for explanation, comment, and presentation of the facts to the Board.
5. If the Superintendent is the subject of the complaint, the Board shall determine
whether the complaint should be heard in public or non-public session in accord with
RSA 91-A:3. The Board may, to the extent it is appropriate, advise the Superintendent
of the nature of the complaint and may give the Superintendent an opportunity for
explanation, comment, and presentation of the facts.

Adopted: November 6, 2001
Revised: December 4, 2012