A school district policy committee on Oct. 5 reviewed and reworded the sick-leave bank policy to make explicit that elective procedures and maternity leave would not be eligible for draws from the bank, and to clarify how family-illness cases should be handled. Committee members agreed to forward the revised language to the full board for consideration.

Committee members focused first on the policy’s purpose language, which had previously mirrored language in the district’s negotiated agreement. Members agreed that the policy should state the bank’s purpose is to provide additional sick-leave days to employees who are members of the bank for absences due to personal illness or injury or the death of a spouse or child, while excluding elective procedures and maternity leave from eligibility. The committee discussed phrasing alternatives — "elective surgery," "selective procedures," and "procedures" — and settled on wording that distinguishes elective care from medically necessary leave.

Members also debated whether the sick-leave bank should cover time off to care for ill family members. One committee member described a current personal situation (a spouse with a significant injury) and asked whether the bank could provide leave to care for a family member. The committee did not adopt a final, specific rule at the meeting; instead, members recommended adding language to allow the bank or its review committee to consider family-illness cases and to clarify whether immediate family should be eligible. The committee discussed linking bank decisions to existing sick-leave and FMLA-related rules and indicated that exceptional requests could be brought to the sick-leave bank review process for consideration.

There was also discussion about whether to describe membership as "voluntary" in the policy; some members said the voluntary nature is unnecessary to state because there is no mechanism for involuntary enrollment. Committee members agreed to rework the second sentence of the purpose paragraph to improve clarity.

Next steps: committee members agreed the revised draft will go before the board. No formal vote was recorded at the committee meeting; the committee’s action was to forward the edited policy language and to ask staff to refine the family-illness and appeals language before presentation to the full board.

Ending: The committee left unresolved the exact phrasing for family coverage and appeals language, directing staff to rework the draft for the board packet and to ensure the policy aligns with the negotiated agreement and applicable federal rules such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).