If your wife were to be offered a job today, she would
immediately sign a new contract for the 09-10 school year.
This is for her benefit; you want her to sign a contract as
soon as possible. If a second district were to offer her a
contract, then she could legally (and easily) break the first
contract by the "magic date." I believe the magic date in
Ohio is July 10; hopefully someone will correct me if that
date is wrong. Assuming I am correct, then these things could
happen:
1) She could break the original contract as late as July 9.
She really should break it as soon as possible to be fair to
that school district; don't encourage her to hold on to
it "just in case" she changes her mind about the 2nd school
district. They need time to find a qualified teacher before
the "magic date" when everyone else is locked into place.
2) She could actually break the original contract after July
10. Most of the time, that school district would be very
understanding and release her with no problem; heaven knows
there are a wealth of other applicants from which to choose.
HOWEVER, the school district legally could hold her, meaning
that she is forced to teach for them for the year or they
could legally "hold" her teaching contract for one school
year, blocking her from teaching ANYWHERE for the 09-10
school year. I know teachers who left after that date (they
were offered a principal position, etc) and to my knowledge,
our district has never penalized anyone. That law is to
protect teachers and districts so that multiple people aren't
holding out until the last second. After July 10, things are
pretty much cemented in any district, save for new jobs
created (an extra large 2nd grade bunch that requires an
additional teacher, a medical emergency, a job that admin
know would need to be created but they never got around to
posting it yet, etc.)

Speaking of the business side, you probably know this, but
there is no negotiating with a teacher's contract (like there
is in the business world.) Your wife will be offered what
every other teacher (with similar experience and education
background) is offered. She won't get more for teaching in an
area of teacher shortage, because she has an ivy league
degree, etc. Pay differs per district, but not within the
district (again, comparing two people with similar
backgrounds and educational experiences.)

n 5/15/09, Spouse of Teacher wrote:
> My wife has been subbing for the last year at a district
> she would love to work in. Unfortunately the job
> possibilities there are small. She has some interviews
> with other districts that would not be first choice. I
> know this putting the cart miles before the horse, but
> what are her options if she is offered a position in the
> second choice district and then is offered a position in
> the favorite district? Do you immediatley sign a contract
> when you are offered a position or is there a grace period
> moving closer to the start of the year? What if she has
> signed the contract when another job is offerred but the
> school year has not started?
>
> In this climate I will admit that 2 offers is a long shot,
> but am the worrying kind of spouse. I am also amazed at
> how little of this nuts and bolts career basics are taught
> while pursuing an education degree. They dont really
> discuss the business side of the job at all.
>
> Thanks for any advce

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