2047 - Staff Leave Policy

#2047 - Personal Leave Policy

1. DEFINITIONS AND PROCEDURE

A. In case of absence, it is the employee's responsibility to complete the Leave Request Form and submit it to their supervisor as soon as possible for approval. It is recommended that approval be given at least 48 hours in advance, except in cases of emergency. Leave to be granted the day before or after a holiday and the first and last week of school are strongly discouraged and will be subject to the approval of the supervisor. Holidays shall be defined as those days in the adopted school calendar or otherwise defined by District policy.

2. LEAVE ACCRUAL

A. Employees will accrue 10 days of leave per contract year. Employees will accrue 12 days of leave when the school district is on a 5 day school week calendar. Usage of leave will be at the discretion of the employee for the reasons of illness, funeral, emergencies, community service or personal circumstances. Qualifications for personal leave benefits are outlined in policy #2041 Payroll Procedures & Benefits. Leave days accrued may be adjusted proportionally for employees that end employment or begin employment during the school year.

B. Employees that use 2 or fewer leave days in a school year, will accrue 12 leave days in the following year. Employees that use 4 or fewer leave days will accrue 11 leave days in the following year. This incentive will be adjusted proportionately for part-time positions.

C. An employee who is an expectant mother may receive an additional 12 days of paid leave for parental leave immediately following the birth of a child. This leave may be used prior to the birth of the child if pregnancy makes the employee unable to work. An employee whose spouse is an expectant mother may receive an additional 4 days of paid leave for parental leave immediately following the birth of a child. Parental leave days must be used consecutively and cannot be carried over to another school year. Unused parental leave days are lost. All leave days must be approved by the supervisor.

3. LEAVE USAGE

A. Normally employees will be allowed to use no more than three consecutive working days for reasons other than illness or medical related conditions. The Board reserves the right to require written verification from a physician as to the medical condition. If more than three consecutive working days are requested for reasons other than medical care, the request will need to be pre-approved by the superintendent. All absences must be reported and approved by the employee supervisor. Teachers are responsible for ensuring an adequate substitute for their classroom and must inform the principal of the substitute. School principals and secretaries will assist teachers in finding and qualifying substitutes. Certified employees must use a full day of leave to be absent on a half day of school.

B. Employees will be allowed to use a maximum of 15 days of leave in any one-contract year. An exception would be an-extreme long-term medical related condition verified in writing from a physician or care provider. The maximum leave allowed under these circumstances would be accumulated leave. In case of a long term disability need, the employee may appeal to the board to make up the difference between the number of days he/she has for leave and the number of days required before the long term disability becomes active.

C. Employees may rollover up to 90 personal days from one year to another. Employees may therefore have up to 102 personal leave days to start a contract year. Leave days not used beyond 90 days will be paid out into the employees medical trust account at the end of the year at the rate of $100/Day.

4. LEAVE WITHOUT PAY

A. Any leave days approved in excess of the leave days accrued by an employee will be leave without pay. Leave without pay must be approved by the same process as paid leave. The supervisor may authorize leave without pay for up to 3 consecutive days. Leave without pay requests for more than 3 consecutive days and for reasons other than illness or a medical related condition must receive prior approval by the superintendent. Leave without pay requests more than 15 consecutive days must receive prior approval by the school board.

5. LEAVE INCENTIVE

A. The quality of education is better maintained when utilizing as few substitutes as possible. The district therefore desires to incentivize contract employees that qualify for leave benefits to use leave days sparingly and to plan their travels when school is not in session. Employees are encouraged to maintain a sufficient balance of leave days to ensure their financial well-being in the case of a long-term illness or another medical condition. At the end of each school year employees may receive a payout for unused leave days above 30 into the employees Health Savings Account or Medical Trust Account according to the amounts listed below. Payouts for part-time employees will be in cash through the regular payroll. The payment of unused accumulated leave will be prorated based on the employee's full-time equivalence in the requesting year excluding any extracurricular or non contract hours based on the following scale:

Example 1, if an employee is contracted 40 hours/week and he or she has accrued 90 days of leave, the employee may have 60 days of leave paid into their HSA or medical trust account:

($100 X 1 FTE) X 60 Days = $6,000

Example 2, if an employee is contracted 29 hours/week and he or she has accrued 90 days of leave, the employee may have 60 days of leave paid in cash on the June payroll:

($100 X .725 FTE) X 60 Days = $4,350

Example 3, if a full-time employee retires from the school district with a leave balance of 80 days, the employee may have the 80 days paid into their medical trust account:

($100 X 1 FTE) X 80 Days = $8,000

Example 4, if a part-time employee leaves the school district after 10 years with the school district but before retirement and had a leave balance of 60 days they would receive a cash payout with their final payroll:

(($100 X .725 FTE) X 60 Days) / 2 = $2,175

Example 5, if a part-time or full-time employee leaves the school district before working 10 years with the school district and having a balance of leave less than 30 days they would receive no payout and forfeit any remaining days at departure.

B. Upon retirement from Piute County School District, the district will payout all leave at the rates listed above. This one time payment will be made either into the employees medical trust account or into a special pay account (Such as a 401a, 403b, or 457 account) as per IRS regulations. Employees must also meet all eligibility requirements described in Policy #2053 to qualify for this incentive. Eligibility exceptions will be granted for non full-time employees that do not qualify for benefits listed in Policy #2053, but do receive leave benefits. If an employee separates employment after ten years with the school district but before retirement the school district will payout up to 90 leave days in cash at half the above listed rates. If an active employee dies, the school district will payout leave days in cash at the employee's regular daily rate.

6. LEAVE DONATION

A. If an employee must take leave for medical reasons and has no available leave days other employees may donate personal leave days to the employee with the approval of the Superintendent. Employees who qualify for vacation and personal leave days may only donate personal leave days. All requests to donate leave days must be submitted in writing to the Superintendent within 30 days of the time that the leave was taken or before. Requests to donate leave days that would otherwise be forfeited due to job separation will not be granted. If an employee wishes to appeal the Superintendent’s decision they may request time on the regular school board meeting agenda to present their request. 

B. Donated days will be transferred in no less than 2 hour increments. If a 40-hour employee donates 5 days to a 20-hour employee, the 20-hour employee would receive 10 days. The employee receiving the donated days must use the days for the requested purpose and within the fiscal year or the leave will be transferred back to the donor. Leave days may not be donated to employees who do not qualify for a leave benefit.

***Note***

This policy is intended to focus on the learning opportunities for students within Piute School District. It recognizes that a fundamental educational philosophy is that our employees are well trained and in the performance of their duties and that their being on the job is paramount to students being given the greatest opportunity to learn. This policy also establishes a financial incentive to employees for good attendance. It may be modified at any time with approval of the Board.

National Guard leaves and jury duty are defined by state rules and are exceptions to this policy.

Adopted October 8, 2002

Amended October 14, 2003

Amended August 10, 2010

Amended May 12, 2015

Amended June 12, 2018

Amended April 13, 2021

Amended May 9, 2023