The following leaves with pay will be accorded full time certificated staff employees.

Leave

Certificated staff employees whose assignment calls for twelve (12) months full-time employment will be entitled to ten (10) days of leave. Certificated staff employees whose assignment calls for full time employment only during the regular school term will be entitled to ten (10) days of leave. An absence of one (1) through four (4) hours shall be counted as half day leave. Unpaid leave shall not be considered leave for any purpose.

Accumulated leave  in excess of fifty (50) days shall, at the option of the employee, be redeemed at the rate of (50%) of current daily substitute pay per day at the end of the year, or continue to accumulate. The employee shall make his/her option known to the Superintendent prior to September 30 of each year. Only ten (10) days may be redeemed per school year except in the case of resignation or retirement. Upon resignation or retirement of a certificated employee who as accumulated leave, the District shall make a payment at the rate of fifty percent (50%) of the current daily substitute pay per accumulated day. In the case that an employee should die, the Crawford County R-II School District shall make payment at the above stated rate, to the estate of that employee.

Absences may be charged against leave for the following reasons:

1. Illness, temporary disability, *or permanent disability of the employee. The Superintendent/designee will review each incident of excessive absence and may require the employee to provide medical documentation or may consider disciplinary actions up to and including termination.In addition, if a certificated employee is absent for more than two (2) consecutive days, the employee will be required to provide a physician’s excuse for the length of the absence.Failure to do so will result in docking of the days absent.
2. Illness or injury to a member of the immediate family.**
3. Illness, injury, or other relatives with permission granted by the Superintendent.
4. A District employee shall not be entitled to use days during the period the employee receives Workers’ Compensation for time lost to work related accidents.
5. Personal business that cannot be transacted in non-work hours.

Bereavement Leave

Employees will be granted a maximum of two (2) days, in any school year, for bereavement purposes. Bereavement leave is available only upon the death of a member of the employee's immediate family, as that term is defined at the end of this policy **. Bereavement leave is not accumulative.

Gift Leave

The following applies to all certificated employees when all other leaves of absence have been used.

1. A request for donated days must be submitted to a CTO executive committee member.
2. CTO will send each employee a donation form.
3. Forms should be sent back to a CTO executive committee member. (One day per form submitted, unless otherwise specified.)
4. The CTO executive committee will check with the central office for the number of days needed on a monthly basis.
5. A random drawing of donations will be carried out by the CTO executive committee.
6. Unused days will be returned to the donors.

Any certificated employee who is a member of a retirement system shall remain a member during any period of leave under leave provisions of the District or under Workers’ Compensation. The employee shall also receive creditable service credit for such leave time, if the employee makes contributions to the system equal to the amount of contributions which he/she would have made had he/she been on active service status.

Leave for Jury Duty

Staff members called for jury duty or subpoenaed to testify in a civil or criminal proceeding will be granted leave apart from personal leave. Staff members will receive their normal pay less any jury or witness fees received.

Military Leave

An employee who is a member of the National Guard, or an organized military service of the United States, and who is required by laws of the United States or the State of Missouri to report for military duty, including training, shall be eligible for a grant of military leave.

Application for military leave shall be made in advance, as soon as practicable after the employee becomes aware of his/her obligation to report and immediately upon the employee’s receipt of official notice to report. A copy of the official orders must be added to the leave application. The Superintendent/designee must approve the application. Emergency mobilization orders shall be dealt with on an individual basis.

The District recognizes that employees who receive notice to report for duty typically are not provided with discretion as to when to report. However, whenever an employee has a choice as to when to report for military duty, the employee’s military leave shall be arranged during periods in which school is not in session. When the employee is given a choice as to when to report for duty, the Superintendent/designee may request that the employee seek a change in military orders if such a change appears to be in the best interest of the District.

Employees shall receive leave with pay for up to one hundred twenty (120) hours of military leave in each federal fiscal year. Additional military leave shall be without pay, except as required by federal and state law. Any person entitled to military leave shall only be charged military leave for any hours which the person would otherwise have been required to work had it not been for such military leave at a minimum of one hour and additional charges will be in multiples of one hour. The employee’s district salary during periods in which the employee is entitled to leave with pay shall be reduced by a figure equivalent to the gross salary received from the State of Missouri or the Federal government for the same period. No employee shall be paid under this provision an amount in excess of the total salary the employee would have received while fulfilling the employee’s regular assignment with the District.

Each employee shall furnish a copy of the employee’s military payroll voucher to the Superintendent/designee within thirty (30) days of the employee’s return to regular assignment to that the necessary salary adjustment can be made.

Employee eligibility for reinstatement after military duty is completed shall be determined in accordance with federal and state law.

Domestic/Sexual Violence Victim Leave (See Policy and Regulation 4322)

*The Board considers childbearing a temporary disability. Any certificated employee requesting a short term leave for that purpose shall be afforded all privileges and restrictions of this policy.

**The Board defines “immediate family” to include spouse, parents, children, mother-in-law, and father-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, brother and sisters of an employee or employee’s spouse.