Article 21 - Short Leaves of Absence

21-1     Sick Leave.  

21-1-1  The District will allow ten (10) days of leave each year for teachers which may be used for the purpose of sick leave.  

21-1-2  Sick leave is to be used for a teacher's own illness, illness of an immediate family member, or the death of a family member or friend.  

21-1-3  Unused sick leave shall be accumulated from year to year.  

21-1-4  The Sick Leave Bank will be continued under guidelines and procedures developed and administered by the Sick Leave Bank Committee approved by the District and the Association. Teachers may choose to enroll in the Bank during September of any year. During the month of November, one (1) day will be taken from the available sick leave of the participating teacher and contributed to the Bank.   

21-1-5  Unused accumulated sick leave will be included in the Compensation for Unused Sick Leave Program of the District up to a total number of one hundred eighty four (184) days. See Article 31.  

21-1-6  Because of the changes in this Article on Short Leaves of Absence effective January 1, 1991, it is the policy of the District that any teacher who accumulated sick leave days in excess of one hundred and ninety (190) days prior to December 31, 1990, shall continue to be credited with such accumulation, and such accumulation will be eligible for and included in the sick leave annuity program of the District.  

21-1-7  Selling Sick Leave.  Under the provisions below, teachers shall be allowed to convert unused sick leave from any one year to cash payments.  

1. Only unused sick leave from the previous school year shall be eligible for conversion by an individual.  Balances from prior years will not be eligible.  Conversion will be allowed only if the teacher’s sick day balance will be more than 10 days after the conversion.  The calculation of the amount of sick leave that is eligible shall be made after any conversions from personal leave to sick leave have occurred.  Conversions from personal leave to sick leave will occur no later than July 1.  
2. The conversion value shall be at the daily substitute teacher’s rate as defined in the contract.  
3. The dollar limit on conversion for any teacher shall be 3/181 times his/her annual base salary.  
4. There is an overall limit on conversions equal to the 2002-03 base year expenditures for substitute teachers minus the expenditures for the year in question.  Both expenditures from the substitute teacher pool and for substitutes paid from the long-term leave pool shall be counted.  The calculation shall include an adjustment to the base year for changes in the rate of substitute teacher pay subsequent to the base year.  
5. In the event that teacher requests for sick leave conversions exceed the limit in (d) above, the requests for conversion shall be prorated.  Teachers will get a share of the available days proportional to their share of the requested days.  
6. Teachers shall file a request with the benefits office for conversion on or before June 1 or the end of school whichever is later of each year.  The benefits office shall obtain the overall expenditure limit from the budget office and allocate amounts to each request in accord with the provisions above.  The payments shall be made in the August paycheck.  Teachers may elect to redirect the payment into a 403(b), a 457 or other approved plans subject to the rules of those plans.  

21-2     Personal Leave.  

21-2-1  Teachers will have up to four (4) days per year of personal leave.  

21-2-2  It is intended that personal leave will be available only for reasons of hardship or other pressing or emergency need and not merely for personal convenience. Unused personal leave will be accumulated from year to year as sick leave. 

21-2-3  Personal leave may not be used to extend a period of school intermission or used in conjunction with the observance of a Federal Holiday.  

21-3     Legal Proceedings Leave.  

21-3-1  Teachers shall be granted leave time necessary to make appearances in any legal proceedings connected with the teacher's employment. The teacher shall be required to present the subpoena or summons to verify the teacher's need for absence.  

21-4     Additional Leave Restrictions.  

21-4-1  Use of personal leaves may be restricted or denied by the District when an adequate supply of substitute teachers is not available.  

21-4-2  To maximize continuity of instruction, personal leaves will not be granted during the first four (4) or last four (4) weeks of the school year except for urgent, documented reasons.  

21-4-3  Application for leave for purposes other than sick leave shall be submitted to the principal on a District approved form at leave five (5) working days in advance except in case of emergency.  

21-5     Professional Leave. Teachers shall apply for professional leave days using a procedure established by the principal. This procedure shall be presented by the principal to the faculty every year. The principal will make every effort to distribute the days fairly among the faculty. 

Return to Agreement Table of Contents