Leave of Absence for Employee and Professional Organization Presidents 4-48

School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Policy 4-48

PERSONNEL

Leave of Absence for Employee and Professional Organization Presidents

1. Duration

   Upon written application to the Superintendent, an employee may be granted an unpaid leave of absence to serve as the president of an employee or professional organization. Leave(s) of absence granted pursuant to this Policy shall be limited to a maximum of eight years during an employee's career with the School Division.

2. Salary and Benefits
   1. The professional organization will be responsible for paying the employee directly while the employee is on an unpaid leave of absence from VBCPS. Upon request, the School Division will report pertinent salary information to the appropriate professional organization.
   2. The employee may not use sick or personal leave already earned, nor will the employee accrue sick, personal reasons, or annual leave during the period of the employee's absence.
   3. The employee may be eligible to continue certain benefits in effect for the duration of the leave, pursuant to regulations governing the benefits. Eligible coverage will continue unless the employee elects to cancel coverage while in an unpaid leave status. The employee or professional organization will be responsible for making entire premium payments (both employee and employer portions) for health coverage and continuation of other eligible benefits. This should be done by direct payment to the Consolidated Benefits Office (CBO) in advance of each month. If cancellation of coverage is not elected within 30 calendar days of the start of unpaid leave and subsequent premiums are not submitted, coverage will terminate at the end of the month for which the last premium was paid.
   4. The employee may only retain life insurance benefits for a maximum of twenty-four (24) months.
   5. Pursuant to Virginia Retirement System (VRS) regulations, employees will not accrue serviceable retirement time during their leaves of absence. If the employee returns to a VRS covered position, the employee will be subject to VRS regulations regarding the purchasing of prior service credit due to the employee's leave of absence. The purchase may be paid to VRS by the employee or the professional organization on behalf of the employee.
3. Return to Work and/or Separation
   1. Prior to the conclusion of the leave of absence, the employee shall notify the Department of Human Resources of the employee's intent to return to work as soon as possible.
   2. If the employee chooses to return to work, the employee will be assigned to the first available position for which the employee is qualified.
   3. An employee who chooses not to return to work at the conclusion of the leave shall be separated from employment. In such cases, any remaining leave balances will be processed in accordance with applicable policies and regulations.

Adopted by School Board: June 16, 1998
Amended by School Board: April 19, 2005
Amended by School Board: October 4, 2016
Amended by School Board: June 25, 2019
Amended by School Board: April 16, 2024