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Chris Williams
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Megan Boldt
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651-245-9163 (cell)

ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 26, 2015 – Education Minnesota President Denise Specht released the following statement and background regarding arbitrary tiebreakers, such as coin flips, for deciding layoffs in teacher contracts.

“I’ve read and heard a lot of strange things about coin tosses and layoffs recently. Let’s set the record straight. Coin flips and other arbitrary last-chance tiebreakers in teacher contracts are vestigial language that has been essentially unenforceable since an attorney general’s opinion in 1975,” Specht said. “I’ve never heard of a layoff that got through enough tiebreakers to get to coin flips, so this language probably never came up in negotiations. It’s crazy to think it has ever happened.”

Facts about arbitrary tiebreakers

• A review of Education Minnesota’s database of 327 current teachers contracts found only three contained a coin toss as a tiebreaker for layoffs: Milaca, Albany and Braham.
• The series of tiebreakers in the contract between the Milaca School District and the Milaca Education Association is typical of this residual language. The layoff order is: 1. Date current contact was/is signed. 2. Number of teaching licenses on file with the district. 3. Additional college degrees on file. 4. Additional credits since point of hire. 5. Involvement with extracurricular activities. 6. Flip a coin.
• To illustrate flexibility districts have in deciding layoff language, the teachers in the Clearbrook-Gonvick Independent School District included a coin flip as the final tiebreaker for layoffs in their 2009-11 contract. In their new contract, the tiebreaker changed to: “… the selection of the teacher(s) for purposes of reduction shall be determined by the School District based on a formula using criteria including performance, training, experience, skill in special assignments, and other relevant factors.”
• There’s precedent for using arbitrary tiebreakers. Minnesota is among 35 states that determine tied elections by coin toss or some other means of chance, according to a July 2014 story in the Washington Post. For a Minnesota example, a seat on the Cook County board was decided in November by a random drawing after the election ended in a tie.
• For reporters who want to learn more about the history of tiebreaker language in contracts, retired Education Minnesota Director of Field Services Gary Westorff is available to discuss it. Westorff has more than 40 years of experience negotiating and enforcing teacher contracts.

About Education Minnesota

Education Minnesota represents 70,000 professionals working together for excellence in education for all students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.