A.  A grievance is defined as an allegation that a violation of this Agreement has occurred, unless precluded by the provisions of this Article. The parties agree to make a sincere and determined effort to resolve all alleged grievances as quickly as possible.

B.  Any teacher may submit a grievance to the Principal. A copy of the grievance shall be given to the Association. The grievance must be submitted within seven (7) days after the issue arises or becomes known to the teacher.

C.  The Principal shall respond to the grievant and the Association within seven (7) School days after receiving the grievance. The Principal may extend the time for responding to the grievance if circumstances require and notice is given to the grievant and the Association.

D.  If the grievant is dissatisfied with the decision of the Principal, the grievant may submit the grievance and the Principal's response to the pastor within seven (7) School days after receiving the Principal's decision. A copy of the grievance shall be given to the Association. The pastor shall respond to the grievant, the Principal and the Association within seven (7) School days after receiving the grievance.  The pastor may extend the time for responding to the grievance if circumstances require and notice is
given to the grievant, the Principal and the Association.

E.  1.   If the grievant is dissatisfied with the decision of the pastor, the grievant may submit the grievance to an arbiter designated by the Archbishop of Newark ("arbiter") as defined herein within seven (7) School days after receiving the pastor's decision. A copy of the grievance shall be given to the Association.

    2.  The Archbishop of Newark shall name three possible designees to hear appeals of grievances. When a grievant submits a grievance based on the decision of the pastor, the grievant may choose which one of the three designees shall serve as arbiter to hear and determine the grievance.

    3.  Upon the filing of a grievance with the arbiter, the School shall send a copy of the complete record of the grievance, including the decisions of the Principal and the pastor, to the arbiter. The arbiter shall respond to the grievant, the pastor, the Principal and the Association within twenty (20) School days after receiving the grievance. The arbiter may extend the time for responding to the grievance if circumstances require and notice is given to the grievant, the pastor, the Principal and the Association.

F.  The decision of the arbiter designated by the Archbishop of Newark on any grievance shall be considered final and shall not be subject to further appeal.

G.  All time periods stated in this Article are agreed to be mandatory. Failure to adhere to the time periods for submission of grievances shall result in the grievance being untimely, and the matter shall be considered closed.

H.  In the event the processing of a grievance extends beyond the close of the School year, the time periods for response by the Principal or the pastor shall be seven (7) calendar days, and the time period for response by the arbiter designated by the Archbishop of Newark shall be twenty (20) calendar days.

I.  A failure to respond to a grievance shall not be considered as accepting the grievance.

J.  All matters within the following subject areas shall not be subject to the grievance procedure: all principles related to the conduct of the religious education ministry of the School, including the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church, as stated in Article One, paragraph B; observation and evaluation reports as stated in Article Five; and personnel decisions as stated in Article Seven and Article Eight.
 

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