Around this time each year, we receive questions about the deadlines, procedures, and best practices for renewing and nonrenewing administrator contracts. This Legal Update reviews frequently asked questions regarding administrator contracts.
Who Is Covered by Wis. Stat. § 118.24?
Wis. Stat. § 118.24 governs contract renewal and nonrenewal for the following positions:
- school district administrators, business manager, principals, and assistants to such individuals (e.g., assistant principals); and
- personnel administrators, curriculum administrators, and assistants to such individuals, if employed to perform administrative duties only.
Wis. Stat. § 118.24(1), (8).
Additionally, some school districts have, perhaps inadvertently, incorporated the procedures of Wis. Stat. § 118.24 into contracts with individuals who do not hold one of the above positions. For example, the contract for the Director of Technology or Director of Buildings and Grounds may state that renewal/nonrenewal of the contract is governed by Wis. Stat. § 118.24. In this scenario, we recommend following the nonrenewal procedures in § 118.24, even though the position would not otherwise be covered by § 118.24.
What Are The Statutory Requirements for Nonrenewing an Administrator Contract?
First, the School Board must issue a preliminary notice of nonrenewal. Such action generally follows a closed session discussion.
Wis. Stat. § 118.24 requires the preliminary notice to include the following:
- Notice that the Board is considering nonrenewing the administrator’s contract;
- If the administrator files a written request with the Board within 7 days of receiving the notice, the administrator has the right to a hearing before the Board prior to the Board deciding whether to nonrenew the contract. The administrator may elect to have the hearing held in closed or open session.
- If a hearing is requested, the administrator may also request the reasons for the recommended nonrenewal, which will be provided to the administrator in writing before the hearing.
The preliminary notice must be given in writing by registered mail, at least 5 months prior to the expiration of the contract (January 31, if the contract ends on June 30). When scheduling the Board meeting for determining whether to issue the preliminary notice, we recommend leaving enough time between the Board meeting and January 31 to ensure the notice is delivered by the deadline.
Next, the Board considers whether to issue a final notice of nonrenewal, which has the effect of ending the administrator’s contract at its expiration date. The Board discusses the matter in closed session, after the nonrenewal hearing, if one is requested by the administrator. The nonrenewal of an administrator contract requires a majority vote of the full membership of the Board, which means that an absent member counts as a “no” vote. The final notice of nonrenewal must be given at least 4 months prior to the expiration of the contract (end of February, if the contract ends on June 30).
Unless the contract is nonrenewed in accordance with the procedures outlined above, the contract automatically renews for an additional two years. For example, suppose an administrator has a 2024-2026 contract. If the January 31st deadline for the preliminary notice is missed, the contract would automatically renew for an additional two years (2026-2028).
Is Contract Extension Different from Contract Renewal?
Wis. Stat. § 118.24 prohibits contract terms from exceeding 2 years, although the statute allows for a 2-year contract to provide for 1-year extensions. For example, a 2-year administrator contract may provide that the contract will automatically extend for an additional year if the Board does not provide written notice to the contrary by a specific date, which is usually in or around January in the first year of the contract. This effectively keeps the administrator on a 2-year rolling contract. Any contractual right to automatic extension of the contract is separate from and in addition to automatic renewal under Wis. Stat. § 118.24. This means that in order to nonrenew a contract that includes automatic extension language, the Board must provide written notice of nonextension in addition to issuing the preliminary and final notices of nonrenewal under Wis. Stat. § 118.24.
When considering the nonrenewal of an administrator contract, the first step is to review the contract to determine the contract term currently in effect, which will drive the deadlines for contract nonextension (typically in year 1 of the contract) and nonrenewal (typically in year 2 of the contract).
Many School Boards choose to issue administrator contracts on an annual basis, in or around January, not only to reflect on paper any automatic extension of the contract that occurred, but also to make it easier to track the expiration dates of administrator contracts in effect.
