(6/24) After months of discussion, Fairfield Area School District’s Board of Directors learned teachers are not as worried about a proposed uncompensated leave policy as they suspected.
During their June meeting, Superintendent Thomas Haupt told the board he asked the teachers for feedback on the policy as they directed him to do in May. Haupt believes staff should not be taking uncompensated leave when they have paid leave days to use.
Previously, staff members were allowed to request unpaid leave through the district’s human resources management software. In February, staff were told they must directly converse with their supervisor before requesting unpaid leave.
"As an employer, we should expect staff to be present," Haupt said.
Teachers earn 10 sick days and four personal days, Haupt said. Support staff receive 10 sick days and two personal days.
Haupt clarified that he has no plans to deny people leave for "life events" such as family weddings. He is concerned, however, about staff members who consistently take vacations that could be scheduled during breaks. Haupt added uncompensated leave could affect teachers’ retirement benefits because such periods are not calculated when determining years of service.
Haupt said thirty-three staff members responded to his solicitation for feedback. Haupt said most of the comments he heard from staff focused on the proposed policy being applied equitably to all employees. Haupt stressed that the importance of establishing the policy is to ensure one rule applies to all employees.
Other staff members told Haupt they either supported the policy or had no opinion. Some, Haupt said, were appalled that staff members are currently allowed to take uncompensated leave before exhausting all of their paid leave.
"I honestly would have thought that guidelines like this were already in place. I assumed unpaid leave was a last resort that was granted with approval if deemed necessary," one staff member commented on the anonymous survey.
Board Member Lisa Sturgis, a former district teacher, has been one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed policy. After hearing teachers’ feedback, she now supports it.
"It is hard to argue against it," she said. "They had an opportunity to make comments on it."
Since beginning his job in 2021, Haupt has commented several times that the district’s policies must be clear and uniformly enforced so all staff are treated the same and administrators are not put in a position where they are being subjective.
Read other articles about Fairfield
