A. Membership: A sick leave bank shall be established for optional participation by bargaining unit employees. An employee with one year or more of service shall have six (6) or more days accrued sick leave in order to contribute for his/her initial participation. When the bank has less than two (2) days per each sick leave bank member on June 30 of any year, all continuing sick leave bank participants shall automatically donate a day to the sick leave bank. Employees who return to work during the school year shall be assessed one day upon returning to active duty. Upon membership, authorization is given for automatic contribution of one (1) day per year when sick leave bank maintenance is needed. A sick leave day donated to the bank by an employee will not be returned to the employee except as authorized hereinafter.

B. Establishment and duration: The sick leave bank will not come into existence until at least 100 days are deposited and shall remain in existence until terminated through the collective bargaining procedure or other appropriate procedure.

C. Procedures: The personnel and payroll departments shall establish and the Association will comply with procedures for identifying and recording contributions to the bank and for complying with any applicable governmental regulation of sick leave or sick leave banks or associated record keeping.

D. Bank utilization: In the event of catastrophic illness or injury of a participating employee necessitating the employee’s absence from work over an extended period of time, a participating employee may receive paid leave under the following conditions:

1. Any sick leave drawn from the bank by a participating employee must be used for said employee’s personal illness, accident, or injury.
2. An employee must have exhausted all sick leave to become eligible for sick leave bank benefits.
3. Any employee wishing to draw from the sick leave bank must have been absent for a minimum of fifteen (15) consecutive workdays.
4. Application for use of the sick leave bank must be made to the Director of Human Resources and Staff Development seven (7) working days in advance of anticipated need. Such application shall include:
   1. A doctor’s statement certifying the illness and the necessity for the protracted leave. Reapplication to the sick leave bank must be accompanied by a doctor’s certification that the current illness/injury is not the same or related to an illness/injury used for sick leave bank benefits in the past.
   2. Certification by the employee of the date on which all regular sick leave will be exhausted and the date on which the sick leave bank is to be used.
5. An employee may draw a maximum of forty (40) days for the same illness or injury.
6. After using forty (40) days from the sick leave bank, an employee may not withdraw again until the employee has worked for ninety (90) working days.
7. An employee who is a member of the sick leave bank shall not be eligible to use sick leave from the bank if he/she is on injury or illness in the line of duty, workmen’s compensation, or other approved leave.
8. Upon receipt of application for sick leave bank benefits, the Director of Human Resources and Staff Development shall certify eligibility, notify the employee of eligibility, and send notice to the Association of sick leave bank usage.

E. Continuity and limits: If on June 30 of any year the sick leave bank has more than two (2) days per each sick leave member in the account, all participating employees will continue eligibility for the ensuing fiscal year and only new participants will contribute a day to qualify for participation.

F. Participation abuse: If any employee is found to have abused the use of the sick leave bank, that employee shall repay all of the sick leave credit drawn from the bank and be subject to such other disciplinary action as determined by the School Board through appropriate established procedures.

G. Withdrawal of participation: A participating employee who chooses to withdraw from participation in the sick leave bank shall not be eligible to withdraw any sick leave already contributed. Withdrawal will be effective when the employee fails to meet the condition in paragraph "A" above. Specifically, when a contribution of one (1) day to the bank is needed for maintenance, if a participating employee does not have a sufficient available sick leave balance to contribute one (1) day to the bank, the employee is considered to have withdrawn from the bank for that year.

H. Termination: If the sick leave bank is terminated for any reason, the balance of days in the account shall be equally distributed into the individual accounts of the current (last) participants. However, no employee may receive more sick leave credit under this paragraph (H) than he/she has transferred into the bank.

I. Hold harmless: The Association and members of the bargaining unit shall indemnify and save the Board harmless against and from any and all claims, demands, suits, or other forms of liability that may arise out of or by reason of action taken or not taken, by the Board, for the purpose of granting this procedure for employees to use this sick leave