The Wauwatosa School Board has established this policy regarding benefits for professional staff members. Authorized Leave of Absence After five (5) years of full-time service, a full-time professional staff member is eligible to take one (1) year unpaid leave of absence subject to discretion of the Board and recommendation of the Superintendent. The request will be due by February 1st in the school year prior to the school year of requested leave. The professional staff member on leave must request reinstatement by February 1st of the school year prior to the school year of such reinstatement. The leave is limited to one (1) year in duration except as approved by the Board for one (1) additional year. The Board has the right to make exceptions. A professional staff member returning from a leave of absence shall retain fringe benefits, accrued sick leave and salary in effect prior to the leave, except that no length of service credit shall be earned while on leave, and the District shall not contribute toward a professional staff member’s insurance premiums or other fringe benefits during the leave. Childrearing Leave of Absence In addition to any available leave under federal or state FMLA laws, all full-time professional staff members who have been employed for a minimum of one (1) year prior to the request, may request an unpaid leave immediately following birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care. Requests must be made in writing to the Director of Human Resources at least three (3) months prior to beginning of leave and must identify length of leave requested. No such leave will be granted more frequently than once every three (3) years or exceed one (1) calendar year. During non-FMLA unpaid childrearing leave, the District shall not contribute toward a professional staff member’s insurance premiums or other fringe benefits. No extension will be granted unless there are highly unusual circumstances based on recommendation of the Superintendent and discretion of the Board. If granted, this leave shall run concurrent with FMLA leave under state and federal law. Days Worked All professional staff members are required to work a minimum of one-hundred and ninety-two days (192). Dental Insurance Single or family group premium will be paid by the Board. Benefits will be determined under the terms of the District’s current dental plan. Regular part-time professional staff members may participate in the District’s dental plan, with premiums paid on a pro-rata basis. The dental plan design and benefits may be modified at any time at the discretion of the Board. Post-Employment Benefits The number of professional staff members eligible will be limited to twenty (20) individuals during any one school year and a total of twenty-five (25) individuals during any two-year period, commencing with the 2011-2012 school year, unless specifically authorized by the Board. A combination of age and service in the District will be the determining factor in admitting participants to the program. The individuals with the greatest number of total points will be admitted to the program. Total points will be calculated by adding each individual’s age and years of service in the District. The professional staff member must attain age fifty-five (55) prior to the first day of the first school year of retirement. Employees hired after July 1, 2010, must attain the age of fifty-seven (57) prior to the first day of the first school year of retirement. District retirement benefit payments shall not begin prior to September 1, of the school year in which the retirement is effective. Section 1. Eligibility: A professional staff member with a minimum of twenty (20) years of **continuous full-time employment with the District in a professional staff position and attainment of age fifty-five (55), or age fifty-seven (57) if hired after July 1, 2010, may retire and receive benefits set forth below. Professional staff members desiring to do so shall notify the Superintendent, in writing, by February 1, of the school year prior to the effective date. **For the purpose of this section any professional staff member who has taken a leave authorized by the Board or Superintendent or otherwise allowed by Board policy, shall be considered to have "continuous" employment. For purposes of calculating full-time employment, professional staff members will receive prorated credit for years of service for part-time or partial-year service, based on the percent of contract or year worked.
Health insurance premiums shall be paid to a maximum per year equal to the amount payable to active professional staff members for the coverage which is in effect for active professional staff members. 1. Professional staff members with twenty (20) years of continuous, full-time employment shall receive premiums paid for three (3) years plus five (5) additional years at the payment rate in effect during the third year of the professional staff member’s retirement. 2. Professional staff members with twenty-five (25) years of continuous, full-time employment shall receive premiums paid for eight (8) years. 3. Professional staff members with thirty (30) years of continuous, full-time employment shall receive premiums paid until the professional staff member reaches Medicare eligibility.
The professional staff member has the option to establish a limited purpose flexible spending account and to have dollars deducted from his/her paycheck on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified dependent care expenses, in accordance with the terms of the District’s limited purpose flexible spending plan. Health Savings Account The professional staff member has the option to establish a health savings account and to have dollars deducted from his/her paycheck on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses, in accordance with the terms of the District’s health savings account. Funeral Leave Up to five (5) days’ leave per year will be granted for the funeral of father, mother, brother, sister, spouse, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or domestic partner of the professional staff member or spouse/domestic partner. In addition, one (1) day per year will be allowed for other relatives not listed above. Days taken as funeral leave are charged to sick leave. Group Life Insurance After six months of continuous service, group life insurance is provided to full-time professional staff members in multiples of $1,000 to a maximum to the next even $1,000 above the prior calendar year's earnings at no cost and without a medical examination. In the case of new professional staff members without prior year's earnings with the District, the maximum shall be the next even $1,000 above the current year contract. Professional staff members may purchase additional insurance, up to the plan maximum, at no additional expense to the Board. Upon retirement, a professional staff member who qualifies for post-retirement benefits, shall continue to receive a life insurance benefit equal to 100% of the professional staff member’s amount of basic life insurance in force prior to his/her retirement. Upon attainment of age 65, the retired professional staff member’s amount of life insurance will reduce to the greater of twenty-five percent (25%) of his/her basic life insurance in force during the 1973-1974 contract year or $2,500. Health Insurance Professional staff members choosing health insurance coverage may select between two plans:
Benefits will be determined under the terms of the current health care plans. The health care plan design and benefits may be modified at any time at the discretion of the Board. Vision Insurance The professional staff member has the option to purchase vision insurance through payroll deduction in accordance with the terms of the District’s group vision insurance. Holiday Pay A total of three (3) days are paid holidays and included as days worked on the Payroll Calendar: Memorial Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving Day. In order to be eligible for holiday pay, an employee must work the employee's regularly scheduled workdays immediately preceding and following the holiday, unless the employee is on an excused absence with pay. Employees on an unpaid leave of absence shall not be eligible for holiday pay if the holiday falls during the absence period. Long-Term Disability Insurance The Board will pay the cost of long-term disability income insurance for full-time professional staff member professional staff members with maximum monthly benefit of ninety percent (90%) of monthly salary up to the plan maximum. Short-Term Disability The professional staff member has the option to purchase short-term disability income insurance through payroll deduction in accordance with the terms of the District’s group short-term disability insurance plan. Sick Leave Eleven (11) days per year with accumulation to one hundred and twelve (112) days may be used for personal illness or to attend medical appointments. Up to one-half (1/2) of accumulated days or fifteen (15) days, whichever is less, may be used in case of illness of the professional staff member’s spouse, child, parent or domestic partner. Sick days shall be credited to the professional staff member’s sick leave bank at the start of each year, but are earned on an accrual basis throughout the school year. To the extent permitted by applicable law, use of sick days for leave which qualifies under state or federal FMLA provisions shall run concurrently with such FMLA leave. Personal Leave Up to one day of personal leave per school year with pay shall be granted. Such leave shall not be granted on the day immediately preceding or following a vacation recess, any day in the month of June, any day that has been designated a “Heavy Sub. Day” by the Department of Human Resources & Communications, or when ten percent (10%) or more of the District’s teaching staff may be absent, unless granted by the Superintendent at his/her discretion. At the discretion of the Superintendent professional staff members may be allowed additional absences for personal business that can only be transacted during the school day. Personal leave shall be taken only in increments of half days or full days and shall not be deducted from sick leave nor shall it be used for that purpose. Personal days automatically roll over for use in a future year to a maximum of three (3) days accumulation. At the request of the professional staff member, one unused personal day, each year, may be converted to sick leave. Retirement Fund The Board will pay the required employer contribution to the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS). The professional staff member will pay an amount equal to one-half of all actuarially required contributions to WRS. Travel Pay and Mileage Authorized mileage pay for professional staff members shall be computed on a mileage basis and based on the IRS mileage rate. Payment shall be made only upon submission of the appropriate claim form by the authorized professional staff member. When a full-time or part-time traveling classroom professional staff member travels two (2) or more times in a day (may be to the same locations or different locations), the professional staff member will be paid according to the following schedule: Days of the Week With this Schedule Compensation for a Semester 5 days per week $468 4 days per week $357 3 days per week $234 2 days per week $162 1 day per week $117 Full-time For the purpose of this policy, a full-time professional staff member is one who is scheduled to work a full-time teaching load, relative to his or her assignment, and has a work expectation of at least forty (40) hours per week. Benefits and Domestic Partners For the purposes of Wauwatosa’s benefit policies, a “domestic partner” is defined as an individual who has signed and filed a declaration of domestic partnership in the office of the register of deeds in the county in which he or she resides. Approved/Adopted: 8/29/ 2011 Approved: 9/24/12 Revised: July 8, 2013 Revised: August 22, 2013 Approved: September 16, 2013 Revised: April 9, 2015 Approved: November 9, 2015 Revised: August 8, 2016 |