AGREEMENT

 

between the

 

HACKENSACK EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

 

and the

 

HACKENSACK BOARD OF EDUCATION

 

 

 

2006-2009

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

ARTICLE         DESCRIPTION   PAGE

 

         1    RECOGNITION                  3

         2    NEGOTIATIONS PROCEDURE       4

         3    GRIEVANCES                5

         4    TEACHER RIGHTS     10

         5    ASSOCIATION RIGHTS     11

         6    BOARD RIGHTS        12

         7    SCHOOL CALENDAR & EMPLOYEE WORK YEAR       13      

         8    TEACHING HOURS     14

         9    HOME INSTRUCTION       17            

         10             INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT             18      

         11             TEACHER-ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEES      19

         12             SICK LEAVE        20

         13             TEMPORARY LEAVES OF ABSENCE             21

         14             EXTENDED LEAVES OF ABSENCE             22

         15             REPRESENTATION FEE           25

         16             INSURANCE       26

         17             EMPLOYMENT:  NON-TENURED TEACHERS          27

         18             POSTING OF POSITION OPENINGS          29

         19             METHOD OF SALARY PAYMENT             30

         20             SUBSTITUTES                31

        21              RESERVED          32

         22             TRAVEL EXPENSE ALLOWANCE       33

         23             PAST PRACTICES          34

         24             MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS        35

         25             SALARY GUIDES                  36

         26             TERMINAL LEAVE     37

         27             DURATION OF AGREEMENT      38

 

APPENDIX

               SCHEDULES A-O              39

                       

ARTICLE 1 - RECOGNITION

 

A.      In accordance with the provisions of the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act (N.J.S.A. 34:13A), hereafter referred to as the Act, the Hackensack Board of Education, hereafter referred to as the Board, recognizes the Hackensack Education Association, hereafter referred to as the Association, as the exclusive representative designated for the purposes of collective negotiations by a majority of the non-supervisory certified teachers, para-educators and lunchroom assistants employed by the Board and excluding all secretaries, custodial employees, and all employees whose duties, all or in part, are of a supervisory nature within the meaning of the Act.

 

B.      The term "teacher", as used above and hereafter, refers to all nonsupervisory professional personnel holding positions for which certification is required by law or Board policy.

ARTICLE 2 - NEGOTIATIONS PROCEDURE

 

A.      The Board and the Association shall enter into collective negotiations on a successor agreement in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC).

 

B.      Both parties shall exchange written proposals at the first negotiating meeting.

 

C.      As soon after January 1 as a tentative budget is available for the succeeding school year, the Superintendent shall, upon request, conduct a conference with the negotiating committee of the Association for the purpose of discussing and making available that budget.

 

D.      Board reserves to itself the final authority to review, accept, or reject any total tentative agreement reached by negotiating committees for the Board and the Association.

ARTICLE 3 - GRIEVANCES

 

A.      A grievance shall be defined and subject to limitations as follows:

 

1.      A grievance is an appeal by any member or members of the bargaining unit represented by the Association, or by the Association itself, based upon the interpretation, application, or violation of agreements, policies, or administration decisions affecting terms and conditions of employment.

 

2.      The grievance procedure shall not be applicable to claims:

   a.  by nontenured teachers by reason of their not being re-employed;

   b.   by certified personnel occasioned by lack of appointment to, or retention in, any position for which tenure is either not possible or not required;

   c.   wherein a method of review is prescribed by law or by rule or regulation of the State Commissioner or State Board of Education.

 

3.      A grievance, to be considered under this procedure, must be initiated, in writing, within twenty (20) school days from the time when the grievant would reasonably be expected to know of its occurrence.

                 

B.    The following procedures shall govern the processing of all grievances.

 

1.    It is understood that while participating in these procedures the grievant shall continue to observe all assignments and applicable rules and regulations of the Board.

 

2.    A grievance may be presented by the grievant or by a representative designated by the grievant.  The Association may be represented at any level of the procedure in order to make known its position and the manner in which it believes the grievance should be resolved.  The board may designate a representative to participate at any level of the procedure.  A minority organization shall neither present nor process grievances.

3. Failure at any level of this procedure to communicate a written decision within the specified time limits permits the grievant to proceed to the next level.  Failure at any level of the procedure to appeal to the next level within the specified time limits or failure to appear at a scheduled hearing without reasonable cause, explained in writing within two (2) days of the scheduled hearing, shall constitute acceptance of the decision rendered at the previous level.  Time limits may, however, be extended by mutual agreement.

 

4.    The order of appeals in processing a grievance is:

 

        First Level - The Principal

        Second Level - The Superintendent

        Third Level - The Board

        Fourth Level - Arbitration

 

        except that for psychologists and social workers the order is:

 

        First Level - Director of Special Services

        Second Level - The Superintendent

        Third Level - The Board

        Fourth Level - Arbitration

 

5.    All grievances shall be initiated at the first level by submitting a written grievance statement to the appropriate administrator.  The grievance statement shall include:  the name or names of the grievant(s); the nature of the grievance; the date of its occurrence; the sections or articles of the agreements or board policies, if any, claimed to have been violated; the manner in which these sections or articles were violated; the nature of the personal loss; and the remedy sought.  It is understood that at any level of this procedure the grievance statement may be amended with regard to the citation of articles or sections of agreement or policies.  Such amended statement shall require the Association to return the grievance to its initial level in order to permit consideration of the revision at each step of the procedure.

 

6.    The administrator at the first level of appeal shall, upon receiving the grievance statement, advise the Association and the Superintendent of the grievance and its nature.  He or she shall then hold a hearing at a time mutually agreed upon and shall communicate his or her decision, in writing, to the grievant and to the Association within five (5) school days of having received the written statement.

 

7.    If the grievant decides to proceed to the second level of appeal, viz., the Superintendent, this must be done within five (5) school days of receiving the written decision from the first level administrator.  The grievant may request review by the Superintendent by submitting to him or her the grievance statement submitted at the prior level and setting forth the reasons for dissatisfaction with the decision previously rendered.  The Superintendent may hold a hearing at a time mutually agreed upon and shall communicate a written decision to the grievant and to the Association within eight (8) school days of his or her having received the request for review.

 

8.    If the grievant decides to proceed to the third level of appeal, viz., the Board, this must be done within five (5) school days of receiving the written decision from the Superintendent.  A request for review by the Board, setting forth the reasons for dissatisfaction with the Superintendent's decision, shall be submitted to the Board, in writing, through the Superintendent.  The Superintendent shall attach all papers and related materials and forward the request to the Board.  The Board shall hold a hearing at a time mutually agreed upon within twenty (20) school days of the Superintendent's receipt of request for review by the Board.  The Board shall then communicate its decision, in writing, to the grievant and the Association within ten (10) school days after the hearing by the Board.

 

9.    If the grievant decides to proceed to the fourth level of appeal, viz., arbitration, it must be done within five (5) school days of receiving the written decision from the Board.  The grievant shall notify the Board, in writing, through the Superintendent, of the grievant's decision to submit the grievance to arbitration and shall request the Public Employment Relations Commission to submit a roster of persons qualified to function as arbitrators and willing to conduct hearings outside of school hours.  Arbitration shall be conducted pursuant to applicable laws and statutes and the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association.

 

10.  If the grievant and the Board are unable to determine a mutually satisfactory arbitrator from the submitted list within three (3) school days of receiving it, an arbitrator who is willing to conduct hearings outside of school hours shall be appointed by the Public Employment Relations Commission.

 

11.  The arbitrator shall be limited to the evidence and arguments presented by the grievant, the grievant's representatives, the Association, the Association's representatives, the Board, and the Board's representatives and shall consider nothing else.  The arbitrator shall neither add anything to, nor subtract anything from this agreement or any policy of the Board.

 

12.  The findings and recommendations of the arbitrator shall be recommendatory or advisory only, except that they shall be final and binding on both parties when contract items are in issue.

 

13.  Only the Board, its representatives, the Association, its representatives, the grievant and the grievant's representatives shall be given copies of the arbitrator's report of findings and recommendations, and it shall be given to each of these.  This report shall be submitted by the arbitrator within fifteen (15) calendar days of the completion of hearings on the matter.  This report shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed or released, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the Board, the Association, the grievant, or by any of their representatives for a period of fifteen (15) calendar days after issuance of the report by the arbitrator.

 

14. The grievant and the Board, or their representatives, shall, within fifteen (15) calendar days, notify one another of their acceptance or rejection, in whole or in part, of the arbitrator's findings and recommendations.

 

15.  The fees and expenses of the arbitrator shall be shared equally:  one-half (1/2) being paid by the Board and one-half (1/2) being paid by the grievant.  Each party shall bear the total of other costs it has incurred.

ARTICLE 4 - TEACHER RIGHTS

 

A.    No employee shall be reduced in rank or compensation or otherwise deprived of any benefit under the terms of this Agreement without just cause.

        Any contractual procedure agreed to by the parties herein to enforce said rights may not replace or be inconsistent with any alternative statutory appeal procedure nor may it provide for binding arbitration of disputes involving the discipline of employees with statutory protection under the tenure laws.

        It is further understood that if disciplinary rights are further restored so as to negate the limitations contained in the immediately preceding paragraph, the rights contained in the initial paragraph shall be restored to the extent that those rights pre-existed.

 

B.    No employee shall be coerced, discriminated against, or reprimanded by virtue of the exercise of his or her rights granted under law.

ARTICLE 5 - ASSOCIATION RIGHTS

 

A.    Display of Association Material:

 

1.    The Board will provide bulletin boards in the schools for the use of the Association.  Location shall be determined by the Principal after receiving recommendations from the Association.  Any dispute as to location can be made the subject of a grievance.  Material placed on bulletin boards to which the public have access, shall be subject to the approval of the Principal or Superintendent, whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.

 

2. Bulletin boards will be provided as follows:  one (1) board to a school with a faculty of thirty-five (35) teachers or less; two (2) boards to a school with a faculty of thirty-five (35) to seventy (70) teachers; and three (3) boards to a school with a faculty of seventy (70) teachers or more.  In all schools at least one (1) board will be placed in each faculty lounge and reserved faculty eating area.

 

3.  Eight (8) copies of the minutes of the official Board meeting shall be given to the President of the Association as soon as they are available.

 

B.    Upon submission and approval of the "Application for Use of Public School Facilities" form, classroom and lunchroom assistants shall be granted by the Board, free of charge, a place to hold monthly meetings.  Such approval shall not be unreasonably denied.  The designated area shall be sufficiently large to accommodate the membership of the requesting body.

 

C.         Association Meetings

The period following regular school sessions on each Monday is to be set aside and reserved for Association meetings, unless the Superintendent contacts the President of the Association and informs the Association President of circumstances which require a different school activity on a Monday, in which case the Association President may, at the Association President’s discretion, waive the above restriction.

ARTICLE 6 - BOARD RIGHTS

 

The Board reserves to itself sole jurisdiction over matters of policy and retains the right, subject only to the limitations imposed by the language of this Agreement, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations: (a) to direct employees of the school district; (b) to hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees impositions in the school district, and to suspend, demote, discharge, or take other disciplinary action against employees; (c) to relieve employees from duty because of lack of work or for other reasons; (d) to maintain the efficiency of the school district operations entrusted to it; (e) to determine the methods, means, and personnel by which such operations are to be conducted; and (f) to take whatever actions may be necessary to carry out the mission of the school district.

ARTICLE 7 - SCHOOL CALENDAR AND EMPLOYEE WORK YEAR

 

A.    A joint committee on school calendar shall be established and shall consist of two (2) representatives selected by the Executive Committee of the Association and two (2) representatives appointed by the Board.  The non-voting chairperson of the committee shall be the Superintendent, or the Superintendent’s designee, making it a committee of five (5) members.  The committee shall meet to consider and recommend to the Board a calendar for the ensuing year.  The committee shall submit its recommendations to the Board prior to January 1 or as soon thereafter as the recommendations are completed.

 

B.    The school calendar for the ensuring year, as determined in paragraph A, shall be published immediately following Board adoption.

 

C.     The school calendar shall consist of one hundred eighty-four (184) days which includes the opening day conference.  Three (3) days may be used at the discretion of the Board to compensate for emergency school closings or for establishing professional conference days, or both.  Whenever one of these days is used as a professional conference day, teachers and para-educators shall report in order to engage in professional development and planning activities.  Should any of the three (3) days for these purposes remain unused, the Board, at it discretion, may close schools a number of days equal to the number of unused days.  It is understood that, should more than three (3) days be used for emergency closings, the spring recess may be affected.

 

D.    New teachers to the Hackensack School District will be required to attend a maximum of three (3) days of orientation prior to the opening of school.

ARTICLE 8 - TEACHING HOURS

 

A.    The length of the work day shall be equal for all teachers and para-educators in a given school as follows:

       

             Elementary Schools (grades Pre-K through 6)    6 hours, 45 minutes

             Middle School (grades 7 and 8)                      7 hours

             High School (grades 9 through 12)                      7 hours

       

        It is understood that at least twenty-five (25) minutes of the above mentioned time shall be reserved for periods before the entry of students and/or following their dismissal.  On Fridays, all teachers and para-educators shall be permitted to leave five (5) minutes after the latest designated dismissal time for students.

 

B.    Teachers and para-educators shall have a daily lunch period of at least 40 minutes free of assigned duties.

 

C.    Teachers' schedules and assignments for the following school year shall be given to the teachers no later than June 30 of the current school year.  If changes are made after June 30, the teachers shall be notified of the schedules, changes, or other circumstances as soon as possible after June 30.

 

D.    The Superintendent may, at the Superintendent’s discretion, suspend after school activities in order to permit teachers to attend a general meeting of the Association.

 

E.    Teachers shall receive preparation time in addition to their lunch period in accordance with the following schedule:

 

        Elementary teachers except early childhood teachers shall receive a minimum of 200 minutes of preparation time per week.  An effort shall be made to schedule preparation time on the basis of forty (40) consecutive minutes per day.  Where possible, preparation time shall be scheduled for teachers of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.  Elementary teachers (grades Pre-K through 6) may have an academic issue meeting called during their preparation time, if needed, up to once a week per teacher for a maximum of twenty-eight (28) meeting per school year.

        Middle School teachers shall receive a minimum of five (5) periods per week as preparation time.  Efforts shall be made to schedule preparation time on the basis of one (1) period per day.

 

        High School teachers shall receive a minimum of five (5) periods per week as preparation time.  Efforts shall be made to schedule preparation time on the basis of one (1) period per day.

 

        It shall be understood that all preparation time referred to above is time during which teachers shall not be assigned any other duties.

 

F.    Para-educators receive a minimum of forty (40) minutes per day of unassigned time during which they shall not be assigned any duties.

 

G.    Four (4) hour teaching sessions shall be established for all pre-kindergarten through 6th grade classes on the last four (4) days of school and for all 7th and 8th grade classes on the last two (2) days of school.

 

H.    On Back-to-School Night for each school, that school shall have a 2:00 p.m. dismissal.

 

The existing five (5) day conference schedule of four (4) hour sessions for elementary schools and the Middle School will continue.  On two of these days, teachers will leave at 12:30 p.m. and on two other full days of school return for evening parent conferences from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

 

The High School will follow a three (3) day conference schedule.  On Wednesday and Thursday, school will end at 12:30 p.m. (four hour session) for students and staff.  Teachers will return on both of these days for evening conferences from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  On Friday, school will end at 12:30 p.m. (four hour session) for students and staff.

 

Each teacher and para-educator covered by this Agreement shall be required to attend up to two (2) faculty or other professional meetings per month.  Such meetings shall be held on Tuesdays and begin no later than ten (10) minutes after student dismissal.  These meetings shall run for no more than one hour and fifteen minutes.  If additional time is needed students shall be dismissed early.  There will be no additional compensation for these meetings.  Exception to the provisions may be made only in cases of emergency that may arise to permit building principals to administer their schools properly. 

 

New teachers to the Hackensack School District will be required to attend one additional faculty or other professional meeting a month for a total of three (3) as outlined above.

 

ARTICLE 9 - HOME INSTRUCTION

 

A.    In September, the Department of Special Services shall notify all teachers that the list of home instruction teachers is being prepared for the current school year.  Any teacher, including those teachers not regularly employed by the Board, may have the teacher’s name added to the list at any time by notifying the Department in writing.  All home instruction assignments shall be made by the Department from the list.

 

B.    Openings for home instruction assignments after school hours shall be posted, in each school, as they occur.  Teachers whose names appear on the home instruction list may apply for these openings to the Department.

 

C.     Openings for home instruction assignments during school hours do not require school postings, but will be filled by the Director of Special Services with teachers whose names are on the home instruction list.

 

 

ARTICLE 10 - INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

 

A.    The Board shall provide smocks for art, home economics, and science teachers.  Proper laundering service for these items shall be provided without charge to teacher.

 

B.    Rooms suited to the duties of each teacher shall be assigned to the teacher in each school in which he or she teaches to permit the effective discharge of the teacher’s responsibilities.

 

C.    Class sessions shall not be interrupted by announcements made over the public address system except when there exists:

 

                        a.   conditions which affect the safety or well being of students or staff;

                        b.   conditions which affect at least one-half the school population; or

                        c.   a clear or present need as determined by an administrator.

 

        Two-way public address systems shall be designed so as to eliminate any breach of privacy.

 

D.    All textbooks and workbooks shall be available to teachers each school year by September 1.

 

E.    In the elementary schools, the Board shall provide a central place where sample texts, workbooks, and other teaching materials are available for teachers' use.

ARTICLE 11 - TEACHER/ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEES

 

A.    Building Liaison Committee

The Principal of each school building and the Association building representatives, to be selected by the Association teaching staff in each school, shall meet twice each school year, once in each semester, to discuss concerns of the school.

 

The number of representatives in each building shall be determined on the following basis:  one (1) representative for each thirty-five (35) teachers represented by the Association in that building.  In no case, however, shall the number of representatives meeting with the Principal be less than two (2) or more than five (5).  The time and date for each meeting shall be mutually agreed upon by the Principal and the representatives.

 

B.                Superintendent Level Liaison Committee

The Association President and the President’s designee shall meet with the Superintendent and the Superintendent’s designee, upon the request of the Association President, once in each semester to discuss concerns of the teaching staff.  The time and date of each meeting shall be mutually agreed upon by the Superintendent and the Association President.

ARTICLE 12 - SICK LEAVE

 

A.    All employees may be absent twelve (12) days per year, of which two (2) may be used for family illness, for personal illness without loss of pay.  All unused days are to be accumulated from year to year.  Additional sick leave may be granted at the discretion of the Board upon the recommendation of the Superintendent.

 

B.    When requested by the Superintendent, a physician's certificate shall be submitted in the case of personal illness which extends beyond five (5) school days.

 

C.    When an employee exhausts sick leave, the employee, at the discretion of the Superintendent, may be fully reduced in salary or reduced in salary for the cost of a fully certified substitute.  When absence due to illness extends beyond six (6) months of the exhaustion of sick leave, a full deduction shall be made unless there is formal action by the Board to the contrary.

 

D.                Whenever an employee is absent from the employee’s post of duty as a result of a personal injury caused by an accident arising out of and in the course of the employee’s employment, the employee’s employer shall pay to such employee the full salary or wages for the period of such absence for up to one calendar year without having such absence charged to the annual sick leave or the accumulated sick leave.  Any amount of salary or wages paid or payable to the employee pursuant to this section shall be reduced by the amount of any workers' compensation award made for temporary disability.              

 

ARTICLE 13 - TEMPORARY LEAVES OF ABSENCE

 

A.    One (1) day of leave shall be granted each year for personal business, household, or family matters which require absence during school hours.  Except in cases of emergency, application shall be made in writing to the Superintendent for such leave at least five (5) calendar days in advance.  In cases of emergency, notification shall be presented as soon as possible.  The applicant shall not be required to state the reasons for taking leave other than that he or she is taking it under this section.  Leave days shall not be taken at the beginning or end of a recess period.  Granting of leave shall be in accordance with the operational needs of the school system as defined by the Superintendent.

 

B.    Unused personal leave days shall be accumulated to a total of three (3) for the purposes stated above.  Unused leave days beyond three (3) shall be accumulated and added to accumulated sick leave in accordance with Article 12, Paragraph A.

 

C.    Up to three (3) days’ leave per school year may be granted, with the approval of the Superintendent, or the Superintendent’s designee, for the purpose of visiting other schools or for attending meetings or conferences of an educational nature.

 

D.    In the event of death in the immediate family five (5) days’ leave, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as defined in N.J.S.A. 36:1-1, shall be granted.  The immediate family is defined to include the employee's spouse, parent, parent-in-law, child, sibling, and any other member of the immediate household.  In the case of death in the immediate family for which absence extends beyond the five (5) days allowed, with pay, there shall be a deduction of one-half pay.  The length of time of one-half pay deduction shall be recommended by the Superintendent and approved by the Board.  In the event of the death of a relative defined as outside of the immediate family, one day of leave shall be granted, with pay.

 

E.    Other temporary leaves of absence with full pay, with pay minus substitute's salary, or without pay, may be granted for good reason by the Board upon recommendation of the Superintendent.

ARTICLE 14 - EXTENDED LEAVES OF ABSENCE

 

A.    The Board agrees that up to one (1) teacher designated by the Association may, upon request, be granted a leave of absence, without pay, for up to one (1) year for the purpose of engaging in activities of the Association, its affiliates, or any recognized professional improvement group.

 

B.    A leave of absence, without pay, of up to two (2) years may be granted to any employee who:  (a) joins the Peace Corps, VISTA, or National Teachers' Corps;  (b) serves as an exchange or overseas teacher; or (c) accepts a Fulbright Scholarship.

 

C.    Military leave without pay shall be granted to any employee who is inducted, or enlists following notification of induction, and may be granted to any employee who requests leave to enlist in any branch of the armed forces of the United States for the period of this induction or initial enlistment or to the spouse of any employee who is so inducted to join him or her for a period of special training in preparation for duty in combat zones.

 

D.    The Board shall grant disability leave to any teacher, upon request, subject to the following stipulations:

1.  Leave shall commence and terminate on dates selected by the teacher and have a maximum duration of two (2) years.

2.    The teacher shall submit a request for leave, in writing, to the Superintendent stating the nature of the disability and the beginning and ending dates of leave.

3.    Any teacher granted leave, without pay, in accordance with this section may elect to use all or part of the teacher’s accumulated sick leave during the period of leave, thus receiving full pay during that portion of leave.  The teacher shall notify the Superintendent, in writing, that the teacher elects this option indicating the number of accumulated sick leave days to be used.

4.    No teacher shall be required to leave the teacher’s duties because of a disability at any specific time prior to the disability nor be prevented from returning to the teacher’s duties solely on the grounds that there has not been a time lapse of specific duration between termination of the disability and the desired date of return.

 

5.    The Board shall not remove any teacher from duties unless the teacher cannot produce a certificate from a physician stating that the teacher is medically able to continue teaching.

6.    The Board shall not be obliged to grant or extend a leave of absence of any non-tenured employee beyond the end of the contract school year in which the leave is obtained.

7.  When the disability is due to pregnancy the teacher may elect to continue to perform her duties in accordance with Sections 3 and 4 above.  The period of such an absence will be deemed the same as that for any other physical disability and she will be entitled to her annual and accumulated sick leave, with pay, during the period of her absence.

 

E.    The Board shall, upon request, grant leave without pay, for a maximum of two (2) years to any teacher who adopts a child.  The leave shall commence upon the teacher's receiving de facto custody of the child or earlier, if necessary to fulfill the requirements of adoption.  Such leaves shall be granted pursuant to Paragraph J, below.

 

F.    The Board shall, upon request, grant leave without pay, for a maximum of two (2) years to any teacher for purposes of child rearing.  The leave shall commence with the birth of the child.  Such leaves shall be granted pursuant to Paragraph J, below.

 

G.    A leave of absence, without pay, of up to one (1) year may be granted for the purpose of caring for a sick member of the employee's immediate family, as defined in Article 13, Paragraph D.  Additional leave may be granted at the discretion of the Board.

 

H.    The Board may grant leave of absence, without pay, to any employee to campaign for a candidate for public office or to campaign for, or serve in, public office.

 

I.     Other leaves of absence, without pay,  may be granted by the Board for good reason.

 

J.     Any voluntary leave of absence which is unrelated to a disability and extends for more than fifteen (15) consecutive school days must terminate on either January 31 or June 30.

 

K.    All benefits to which an employee was entitled at the time the leave commenced, including accumulated sick leave, shall be restored upon the employee’s  return.  The employee shall be assigned to a position, if available, comparable to the one held at the time leave commenced.

 

L.     In accordance with the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FFMLA) and the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), the Board of Education shall grant staff members up to twelve (12) weeks leave of absence in any twelve (12) month period upon advance notice to the district for the following circumstances:  In order for such member to provide care made necessary by the birth of a child of the staff member: the placement of a child with the staff member in connection with the adoption of such child by the staff member; and the serious health condition of the staff member or the spouse, parent or child of the staff member.

 

When taking a leave covered by both federal and state laws, the leave runs concurrently.

 

Family leave shall be unpaid leave.  Certification of a duly licensed health care provider shall be required verifying the purpose of the requested family leave.

 

 

ARTICLE 15 - REPRESENTATION FEE

 

A.