District proposes web‑based leave‑tracking module; staff say it will replace paper packets and launch by December

Pennridge School District HR presented a proposal to the board to adopt a web‑based leave‑of‑absence tracking module intended to replace the district's paper leave packets and manual tracking.

Nicole Foster, the district benefits specialist, described the product as a hosted, web‑based portal with separate employee and employer interfaces. She said the portal would allow employees to request leaves and upload documentation electronically and would provide automated email notifications, templates and integrated reporting. "It allows us to automate email notifications to them regarding their eligibility for FMLA, deadlines, and return to work requirements," Foster said.

Foster outlined the district's current manual process: long paper packets for each leave request, a paper medical file and an Excel spreadsheet maintained by HR to track eligibility, sick and personal time usage, intermittent FMLA and ACA reporting. She gave historical leave counts: 77 total leaves in 2022–23, 76 in 2023–24, 81 in 2024–25, and as of the committee meeting 33 active leaves with 16 requests for future leaves this year.

Cost details and timing: Foster said there is a one‑time implementation fee of $750. The leave module is billed annually based on active employees (an honor system count); the vendor offered a bundled discount with an existing Act 168 portal through IU 13. The bundled price would lower the Act 168 applicant fee from $5 to $4.50 and reduce the leave‑tracker charge from $2.00 per employee to $1.75. Foster provided an implementation estimate for 2025–26 of $2,587 for the first year (implementation plus annual charges) and $1,837.50 thereafter on current employee counts. She described a three‑year contract and an implementation timeline: set up and HR training in October (if approved at the September board meeting), pilot testing in November and district launch in December.

Foster said the system is currently budgeted in HR. Committee members asked whether leave records would remain accessible for personnel or medical files; Foster said records would reside in the vendor system but can be printed and filed into employees' paper medical files until an electronic medical file solution is available. Staff noted potential integration work with PowerSchool and Records for a future unified personnel/medical file approach.

The committee recorded staff intent to bring the contract to the board for a vote at the September meeting; no formal approval was recorded in the committee transcript.