Leaves

The following leaves with pay will be provided to all full-time regular employees. Part-time regular employees will receive these leaves on a pro rata basis. Please refer to Board Policies GCBDA and GDBDA for the complete District Policies regarding leaves and absences.

Leaves & Absences

Paid Days/Time Off

Paid time off provides employees greater flexibility in the use of time off.

Exempt Staff-Paid Days Off (PDO)

Exempt employees will have his/her full entitlement of PDOs available beginning on his/her first working day of his/her
contract. PDO entitlements are granted according to the number of contract working days, as outlined below:

Number of Contract Days	PDO Hours Earned in School Year	Maximum Carryover PDO Hours
Less than 205	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 9*	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 21
205 - 246	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 10*	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 21
244 and greater	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 11*	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 22

*Prior to the start of the 2023-24 fiscal year, one fewer day of PDO was earned each year. The LSR7 Board of Education approved one additional day of PDO leave per year starting July 1, 2023.
Employees working less than a full term (new hires or separations) will only be entitled to a prorated share of PDO hours based on length of employment during the current school year compared to a full term of employment.

Non-Exempt Staff-Paid Time Off (PTO)

Non-Exempt employees accrue their PTOs each pay period. PTO entitlements are granted according to the number of contract working days, as outlined below:

Number of Contract Days	PTO Hours Earned in School Year	Maximum Carryover PTO Hours
Less than 205	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 9*	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 21
205 - 246	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 10*	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 21
244 and greater	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 11*	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 22

*Prior to the start of the 2023-24 fiscal year, one fewer day of PTO was earned each year. The LSR7 Board of Education approved one additional day of PTO leave per leave per year starting July 1, 2023.
Employees working less than a full term (new hires or separations) will only be entitled to a prorated share of PTO hours based on length of employment during the current school year compared to a full term of employment.

Vacation Days/Time Off

The District grants vacation days in addition to PDO/PTO to all regular employees scheduled to work 244 or more days a
school year. Vacation time for management personnel shall be based on the recommendation of the Superintendent and
approved by the Board of Education.

Exempt Staff-Vacation Days Off (VAC)

Exempt employees will have his/her full entitlement of VACs available beginning on his/her first working day of his/her
contract. VAC entitlements are granted according to the employee’s years of service, as outlined below:

Years of Service	Vacation Hours Earned in School Year
1 to 5 years	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 10
Greater than 5 years	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 15
Greater than 15 years	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 20

Employees working less than a full term (new hires or separations) will only be entitled to a prorated share of VAC hours based on length of employment during the current school year compared to a full term of employment.

Non-Exempt Staff-Vacation Time Off (VTO)

Non-Exempt employees must earn VTO before it may be used. VTOs will be earned each pay period. At the end of the
school year, the total VTO earned will be according to the employee’s years of service, as outlined below:

Years of Service	Vacation Hours Earned in School Year
1 to 5 years	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 10
Greater than 5 years	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 15
Greater than 15 years	Number of hours worked per day multiplied by 20

Employees may accumulate up to one and a half times their accrual rate (i.e., an employee with 4 years of service may
accumulate up to the equivalent of 15 days). Hours accumulated beyond this maximum shall be automatically forfeited. The
only exception is if an employee is not allowed to take his or her vacation because of district needs, in which case the
employee shall receive an extension of six months in which to take his or her vacation.

Bereavement Leave

Employees shall be granted paid leave not to exceed 5 working days, in the event of a death in the immediate family (excluding miscarriages). The District may require verification of the need for the leave. The Board defines ‘‘immediate family’’ to include:

The employee’s spouse.
The following relatives of the employee or the employee’s spouse: parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, siblings, stepsiblings, employee’s grandparents, grandchildren or other family members who reside in the same house hold as the employee.
Any other person over whom the employee has legal guardianship or for whom the employee has power of attorney and is the primary caregiver.

Employees shall be granted paid leave not to exceed 2 working days, in the event of a death in the extended family (excluding miscarriages). Extended family shall include grandparents of the employee’s spouse, son-in-law, daughter-in- law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Civil Air Patrol Leave

Any employee who is a member of Civil Air Patrol and has qualified for a Civil Air Patrol emergency service specialty or who
is certified to fly counter-narcotic missions shall be granted unpaid leave to perform Civil Air Patrol emergency service duty
or counter-narcotic missions without loss of time, regular leave or any other rights or benefits in accordance with law. The
leave is limited to 15 working days in any calendar year, but is unlimited when responding to a state- or nationally declared
emergency in Missouri. The District may request that the employee be exempted from responding to a specific mission.

Coast Guard Auxiliary Leave

Employees who are members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary will be granted an unpaid leave of absence for
periods during which they are engaged in the performance of United States Coast Guard or United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary duties, including travel related to such duties, when authorized by the director of auxiliary or other appropriate
United States Coast Guard Authority. Such leaves of absence will be given without loss of time, regular leave or any other
rights or benefits to which such employees would otherwise be entitled. The leave is limited to 15 working days in any
calendar year, but is unlimited when responding to a state- or nationally declared emergency in Missouri or upon any
navigable waterway within or adjacent to the state of Missouri. The District may request that an employee be exempted
from responding to a specific mission.

Court Subpoena Leave

Crime Victim Leave

Election Leave

Any employee who is appointed as an election judge pursuant to state law may be absent on any election day for the
period of time required by the election authority. The employee must notify the District at least seven days prior to any
election in which the employee will serve as an election judge. No employee will be terminated, disciplined, threatened or
otherwise subjected to adverse action based on the employee’s service as an election judge.

Firefighter Leave

Employees will be allowed to use PDO/PTO, vacation and/or unpaid leave for any time taken to respond to an emergency in the course of performing duties as a volunteer firefighter.
For the purposes of this section, ‘‘volunteer firefighter’’ includes members of Missouri-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team, Missouri Task Force One, Urban Search and Rescue Team or those activated by FEMA in times of national disaster.
Employees covered under this section shall not be terminated from employment for joining a volunteer fire department or for being absent from or late to work in order to respond to an emergency. Employees shall make every reasonable effort to notify the principal or supervisor if the employee may be absent from or late to work under this section. Employees are required to provide their supervisors with a written statement from the supervisor or acting supervisor of the volunteer fire department stating that the employee responded to an emergency along with the time and date of the emergency.

Jury Duty Leave

Employees reporting for jury duty are excused from work for their regularly scheduled shift on the day(s) require for jury
duty. The employee will be paid regular pay after submitting receipts showing proof of service, days served, parking, meals
and mileage. Forms available for submitting receipts are located in GCBDA-AF1.
Procedures are outlined in GCBDA-AP4. Any amount earned in excess of the receipts must be assigned to the school district.
An employee will not be terminated, disciplined, threatened or otherwise subjected to adverse action because of the
employee’s receipt of or response to a jury summons.

Military Leave

The District shall grant military leaves required by law. Members of the National Guard or any reserve component of the
U.S. Armed Forces who are engaged in the performance of duty or training will be entitled to a leave of absence of 120
hours in any federal fiscal year (October 1 – September 30) without impairment of efficiency rating or loss of time, pay,
regular leave or any other rights or benefits. Employees shall provide the District an official order verifying that they are
required to report to duty.

Professional Leave

Leave to Vote

Employees who do not have three successive hours free from work while the polls are open will be granted a leave period
of up to three hours to permit the employees three successive hours while the polls are open for the purpose of voting.
Requests for such leave must be made prior to Election Day, and the employee’s supervisor will designate when during the
workday the leave should be taken. Any employee who properly requests leave to vote and uses the leave for that purpose
will not be subject to discipline, termination or loss of wages or salary.

Catastrophic Paid Days off Bank

The Lee’s Summit School District has established a Catastrophic Paid Days Off (PDO) Bank. This bank is designed to ensure that those
most in need during a period of catastrophic illness of their own or of their immediate family would have paid leave available. It is not the intent to ensure protection from all situations, but instead to assist in catastrophic situations. Regardless of an employee’s
application to the Catastrophic PDO Bank, an employee may be eligible for FMLA or STML.
The bank is administered by the District’s Human Resources Department. The bank’s resources come from initial and continuing
contributions of PDO/PTO’s made by all members to the bank. Human Resources then disperses, based upon proper submission and
proper medical evidence, days of PDO/PTO’s to bank members. Members who receive days do not have to repay the bank. The bank
operates much like a long-term disability insurance plan, whereby the insured pays annual premiums for a benefit which, hopefully,
need never be collected.
Human Resources does everything in its power to give full and fair consideration to each request, however, the burden of complying
with the bank’s rules and providing sufficient medical evidence of disability lies entirely with the member. Again, remember that
individual employees may be eligible for FMLA or STML while not qualifying for Catastrophic PDO pay.

Joining the Bank

In order to become a member of the bank, an employee must contribute one of their personal days off (PTO/PDO) to the bank.
The contribution will be made electronically on the insurance enrollment website. New employees may contribute to the bank
within the first 30 calendar days after employment. If you have not previously donated to the bank, you may contribute to the bank
during the District’s annual insurance open enrollment. Note: if you have donated to the pool and ended employment with the
District, you will have to donate again to become a member after being rehired by the District.

Purpose of the Bank

Definition of Catastrophic

A catastrophic illness is an illness or injury due to a physical or mental impairment (other than those described below) or which:

1. Is of a terminal or life-threatening nature; or,
2. Is expected to be of a long and indefinite duration and requires:
a. Extended at-home custodial care for an individual who is unable to perform basic living functions without
assistance, such as bathing, eating, or dressing; or
b. In-patient treatment at a licensed hospital or rehabilitation facility.

The terms “illness” and “injury” shall exclude an illness or injury resulting from alcohol or narcotics abuse, self-inflicted injuries, or
engaging in a criminal felony.

Requesting Bank Leave

In order to request leave from the bank, an employee had to join the bank and exhaust all advanced and accrued PDO/PTOs. Year
round employees will be required to use all but five vacation days prior to applying to the catastrophic bank. To request leave from
the bank, follow these steps:

Complete the Catastrophic Paid Days Off Claim Form found in Board Policy. For exempt staff, GCBDA-AF4 and for
non-exempt staff, GDBDA-AF3.
Return the completed form and all required documentation to the District’s Human Resources Department
located at Stansberry Leadership Center.
The District’s Human Resources Department will then be in contact with you.

Waiting Period

Newly hired employees shall become eligible for coverage under the Catastrophic Bank after having worked 90 working days
following their hire date. Hire date is defined as the first day of an employee’s contract and/or compensation summary.
Employees who do not contribute during their new hire enrollment period are eligible to contribute during the next open enrollment
period. Employees who contribute during the open enrollment period shall become eligible for coverage after serving a 12-month
waiting period. For example, if an employee contributes during the November 2021 open enrollment period, he would be eligible for
coverage beginning December 1, 2022.

Additional Information

LSR7 Benefit Stories

I cannot say enough good things about the Complete Health and Wellness Center! Every single time I have interacted with staff they have been welcoming and kind. I had a telehealth appointment scheduled and after talking through my concerns, Shelly Lynch had me come on in to the clinic for an in person exam so that she would be able to refer me on to additional services. The staff is accommodating, understanding, and very professional. What a great benefit for our LSR7 staff!

- Ashley Brouillette, Teacher, PVE

Erin Jensen helps me with any questions I have, it does not matter what it is!!! I have her in my phone for quick dial because she seriously is my "Go To" person! And if she does not know the answer, which by the way is not often, she will find out for me and get right back with me. She is awesome!!

- Debbie Griffey, Production Staff, HHE Cafeteria

I came to the CHWC with some symptoms that were fairly severe. Not only did the provider I saw take plenty of time to consider a variety of possible causes and remedies, but also offered help with follow-up questions and emailed me several resources. They called a week later to check on how I was doing and continued to offer support weeks after my initial visit. The care I received from the provider, nurses, and other staff at CHWC was far beyond any medical care and follow-up I have ever received.

- Sarah Courtney, Teacher, LSNHS

The drive-up COVID testing was easy and fast with a friendly nurse. And, the follow-up provided helpful, practical advice. I learned things about COVID from the Center's nurse practitioner that I'd never heard before elsewhere! The Wellness Center is a gr8 benefit to employees, and this is not my first positive experience. Through the annual health assessment report (and accompanying LSR7 Inspiring Balance Employee Wellbeing Program), I have improved most all of my "stats and digits."

- David Jackson, Admin Secretary, HPE

I've received great care here for a couple years, but started using them more for my kids as well. Yesterday my daughter woke up with extremely swollen lymph nodes in her neck, fever and sore throat. There were no appointments available so I messaged her provider asking if she could be squeezed in and THEY DID! We weren't treated like an after thought; Lisa was still very thorough and took the time needed to give a proper diagnosis."

- Jennifer Holbert, Admin Secretary, Nutrition Services

Erin Jensen has been so very patient and helpful in assisting me with all the necessary details to complete the new hire beneifts packet. I know that she (as well as others in the Beneifts department) are extremely busy processing important information for many others in the district, however, she in particular has been a "jewel"...Again, Thank you Erin, YOU ROCK!!

- Michell Owens, Teacher, LSNHS

The receptionist greeted me with a smile under her mask and she worked to get me in safely to the clinic. The nurse worked patiently to verify which lab work my doctor was requesting. I appreciate them working in a safe and friendly manner.

- Susan Murphy, Paraprofessional, GBEEC