HR will send out vacancies at least one week prior to the commencement of the transfer process.  At this time, the transfer process, for non-receivership schools, is scheduled for July 1, 2021 – August 16, 2021.  In the meantime, please take the time to conduct research about schools you may be interested in and take advantage of the soon to be scheduled opportunities to visit schools.  We will not have definitive information about vacancies until the budget is approved by the board, which is scheduled for May 15, 2021. Please be aware that once the transfer process begins, and choices are made, the vacancies will change. If there are no vacancies available for a tenure area, HR will contact teachers to let them know that we will not hold a transfer process for that tenure area.

Letters with transfer process information will be mailed to teachers who will remain on a leave of absence through the end of the school year. 

Professional conversations/interviews with building administration or their representative (administrative) must occur before a teacher can transfer into a school. Do not contact the Principal regarding school visits or interviews, please use the school open house calendar to plan your school visits.

Article XIV Section B of the BTF collective bargaining agreement identifies the deadline of March 23, 2021.

Teachers who may be reduced from their buildings due to changes in enrollment will be automatically included in the transfer process by Human Resources,where they will select from available vacancies in seniority order.  Teachers impacted by budget changes must still meet with building administration to have a professional conversation/interview.

The transfer process will be conducted in one round. Teachers will be able to take advantage ofthe positions that are available when their name is called. If further vacancies become available after the transfer process, teachers who have not accepted a transfer will be contacted based on their seniority. 

The District and BTF have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to offer the right of first refusal to teachers where a position is .4 or above and increases to 1.0.  Also, teachers who are in a 1.0 assignment that reduces to .8, and the district can match the positon with a .2, have the right of first refusal for the positon.

Voluntary and involuntary transfers shall be maintained on a single transfer list. 

Transferred teachers will remain in place for a minimum of two (2) years, unless they are impacted by budgetary changes.

HR will work with principals to obtain as much information as we can about the openings that willbe available and share the information prior to and during thetransfer process.

It is your obligation to supply contact information for the teacher transfer process.  If they are unable to reach you, they will move on to the next teacher in seniority.

If there is a budgetary impact to your position, you have payroll location rights to a classroom assignment in your tenure area at your current location, so long as you have more years of service than the least senior teacher in that tenure area.  If there are two TOSA teachers with the same title, and one of the positions is reduced, the most senior TOSA has rights to the title, regardless of funding source.  If you are a TOSA teacher that has the least seniority in your tenure area, and there is a reduction in that tenure area, you will be reduced from you will be reduced from your TOSA assignment if there are no volunteers that accept the reduction.  Therefore, the TOSA teacher and the second-least senior classroom teacher will be reduced and must participate in the TOSA interview process or teacher transfer process.

Human Resources will review the fit recommendation from Principals to evaluate if the vacancy requires specialized skills, including:

a.       Bilingual

b.       Montessori

c.       Advance Placement Experience

d.       Rigorous Instrumental Program

e.       Physical Education w/ Health or Life Guard Certification

f.        Unique Programmatic Needs

Other factors being equal, in the judgement of the Board, the teacher with the greatest length of time in the Buffalo Public Schools System shall select from available vacancies by contractual seniority in their tenure area.  The Associate Superintendent for Human Resources will make the final determination regarding a teacher transfer in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.