Pursuant to the agreement between the Manchester Board of Education and the Manchester Education Association (pages 28-31) the Sick Leave Bank shall be established to assist teachers who, as a result of catastrophic or extended illness or injury, have exhausted their accumulated sick leave.

In order to be eligible to participate in withdrawals from the Bank, a teacher must meet all of the following criteria:

1. The teacher or immediate family member (spouse or children) must have a catastrophic illness or extended injury, verified by the Sick Leave Committee. The Sick Leave Committee may, in its discretion,require medical or other information to facilitate its ability to verify the teacher's or immediate family member's illness or injury.

2. Such illness or injury has caused the teacher to exhaust all of his/her accumulated sick leave days.

3. The teacher must have donated one (1) to three (3) days from his/her accumulated sick leave to be eligible to participate in the Sick Leave Bank. This donation must occur by September 30 of the ensuing school year. The days donated by each teacher will be subtracted from his/her accumulated sick leave. To be eligible, new teachers and teachers returning from leave may contribute one (1) to three (3) days immediately upon hiring or returning.

Procedure
1. The eligible teacher, as determined by the above criteria, must submit a letter to the Sick Leave Committee explaining how he/she meets the eligibility criteria and request permission to draw upon the Sick Leave Bank. The Sick Leave Committee shall consist of four (4) teachers: one elementary teacher, one middle school teacher, one high school teacher, one teacher from the Bennett Academy, and an Administrator. The Association president shall serve as ex-officio.

2. The Sick Leave Committee shall, within fifteen (15) school days of receipt of the letter, render a decision as to the use of the Sick Leave Bank days.

3. In the event the Sick Leave Committee concludes that the Bank days should be granted to the teacher, a determination shall be made regarding the date from which such days shall be credited. This date may be retroactive to the date of the expiration of the teacher's accumulated sick leave days.

4. Sick Leave Bank days may not exceed thirty-five (35) for any one application. If the teacher's illness or injury extends beyond the number of Sick Leave Bank days granted, he/she may apply for additional days, up to a maximum of one hundred and eighty-seven (187) days. Unused granted days will be returned to the Sick Leave Bank at the end of the current school year.

Decisions made by the Sick Leave Committee will be communicated by the president of the MEA. Any additional information or questions should be forwarded to the president of the MEA.