Employee Sick Leave Bank

The Bulloch County Board of Education's Sick Leave Bank for eligible employees provides its members with sick leave after their own sick leave has been exhausted due to extenuating circumstances. Employees who elect to become members are required to
contribute part (one day) of their accumulated sick leave to the bank.
Members may withdraw sick leave from the Sick Bank only in accordance with the guidelines established by the Sick Leave Bank Committee of Trustees.
 

The Sick Leave Bank shall be administered by a Committee of Trustees which consists of the director of Human Resources, one member of the employee benefits department, one principal, three certificated employees, and one classified employee. The committee
members shall be appointed by the Superintendent and shall serve staggered terms of three years. Terms of initial committee members shall be determined by the Superintendent. Decisions of the committee must reflect a majority vote of the entire Committee of Trustees. The committee shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson. The payroll officer to the Superintendent shall serve as secretary, but will not be a voting member of the committee. A group of five Trustees must be present in order to conduct the official business of the Committee of Trustees. The Trustees have responsibility for receiving, verifying and approving or denying requests for Sick Leave Bank withdrawals.
 

Membership and participation in the Sick Leave Bank is voluntary. The
Bulloch County Board of Education requires employees who wish to
join the Sick Leave Bank to waive their right to use Policy GAE to challenge a decision of the Board of Trustees as a condition for participating in the Bank.

Any full time employee who is entitled to sick leave in the Bulloch
County School System may become a member of the Sick Leave Bank
by donating one day of the employee's accumulated sick leave during
an annual open enrollment period, September 1, through November
1, each year. Membership requests will be accepted only during the annual enrollment period. The Sick Leave Bank Donation Form must be used for this purpose.

New employees of the school system become eligible for membership in the second year of their employment and must have accumulated a minimum of ten (10) sick leave days at the end of this one-year employment period. For the purpose of membership, a "new employee" is hereby defined as an employee contracted for employment on or
after July 1, 2005. Membership in the Sick Leave Bank continues from year to year unless written notice of withdrawal of membership is received by the Trustees during the annual open enrollment period, September 1, to November 1, of a year subsequent to the year of enrollment.

The Committee of Trustees determines when the Sick Leave Bank needs to be replenished.  At such time, all members of the Sick Leave Bank will be required to deposit additional sick leave in an amount specified by the Trustees. If a member has no accumulated sick leave at the time of the assessment, the first earned day will be donated. Donations of sick leave to the Sick Leave Bank are not refundable or transferable.
 

A member of the Sick Leave Bank may apply for withdrawal of sick leave from the Bank provided the following apply:

• The member has been absent at least 20 days due to personal illness, injury, surgery or temporary disability (including that of a spouse or child) prior to the day on which use of the Sick Leave Bank days is to begin;
• The member does not request sick bank withdrawals during maternity leave unless medical complications arise from pregnancy;
• The member does not request sick bank withdrawals for elective surgery;
• The member has exhausted his/her own accumulated sick and vacation leave;
• The member is not receiving and will not qualify to receive Workman's Compensation, disability, or any other compensation for the absences if it is provided through the benefit package offered by the Bulloch County Board of Education.

Requests for Sick Leave Bank withdrawals are to be made as follows:

• Sick Leave Bank withdrawals may be requested and used only for personal illness, injury, surgery or temporary disability (or that of a spouse or child);
• The Sick Leave Bank Withdrawal Form is to be used for all requests;
• The Sick Leave Bank Withdrawal Form must be accompanied by a physician's statement verifying the member's illness, injury, surgery or temporary disability and attesting to the member's incapacity to perform his/her assigned duties;
• An applicant may be required to undergo, at the applicant's own expense, a medical review by a physician approved by the Trustees;
• Withdrawals from the bank will be granted in units of 20 days when the employee would normally receive pay;
• Members may submit requests for extensions of leave before their prior grant expires;
• The maximum number of days any member may receive in a fiscal year period is 60;
• All leave granted, but not used by the member, must be returned to the Sick Leave Bank;
• Sick leave granted to and used by a member does not have to be repaid except as all members are uniformly reassessed;
• Each member must sign an authorization form stating that the employee is aware of the provisions of the Sick Leave Bank and also that the employee relieves the Trustees and the Bulloch County School System from any liability as a result of action taken by the Trustees; 
• If a member is physically or mentally unable to make a request to the Sick Leave Bank, a family member or agent may file the request on the member's behalf;
• Upon request by the Committee of Trustees, an applicant must authorize the release of all of his or her medical records to the Committee of Trustees for review and consideration by the Trustees.

Requests for Sick Leave Bank withdrawals will be processed as follows:

• The Trustees will render a decision on an application for withdrawal within 20 working days of its receipt;
• The decision must reflect a majority vote of the entire Committee of Trustees;
• The initial (first) decision of the Trustees is subject to an appeal to the Committee of Trustees. However, said appeal must be submitted to the committee in writing within 20 calendar days of the Trustees' initial decision. This appeal will permit any additional information that the employee wishes to submit for information;
• The second decision of the Trustees is subject to appeal to the Board of Education. However, said appeal must be submitted to the Board in writing within 20 calendar days after the Trustees' decision.
• Employees must waive their grievance rights to participate and the Bulloch Board of Education hereby creates an exclusive appeals procedure applicable only to decisions of the Committee of Trustees relating to the administration of the Sick Leave Bank and hereby provides that the review will not be de nova but based only on the records available to the Committee of Trustees. The Board of Education will review the decision of the Committee of Trustees solely for the purpose of determining if the Committee of Trustees grossly abused its discretion or acted in an illegal or discriminatory manner;
• The trustee will use the following criteria in administering the bank and in rendering their decisions:
  • Medical evidence of serious personal illness, injury, surgery or disability (or a spouse or child);
  • Appropriate use of any previous sick leave; and
  • Length of service to the Bulloch County School System.

 All records of the Sick Leave Bank will be maintained by the payroll department. The Trustees will inform the payroll department of all
applications that have been approved and the amount of leave granted to the member.

Due to the establishment of a Sick Leave Bank any full time employee
of the Bulloch County School System may donate up to 10 sick leave
days to his or her spouse if such spouse is also an employee of the
school system and the days may only be donated for purposes of
maternity leave, illness, illness of a family member, or death of a
family member. Please refer to the Bulloch County School Employee
Handbook for eligible family members.

Allissa (Alli) Baxter
Chief Human Resource Officer and Title IX Coordinator for Employees
912.212.8511

Phillip Tremble
Director of Human Resources
912.212.8510

Charlisa Osgood
Human Resources Business Manager
912.212.8517

Ty Winters
Human Resources Coordinator
912.212.8510

Billie Jean (B.J.) Brannen
Employee Benefits Coordinator
912.212.8515

Judy Reynolds
Human Resources Clerk
912.212.8532

April Callaway
Central Office Receptionist
912.212.8500