Administrators & Unaffiliated Staff Benefits

Effective July 1, 2023 (except where otherwise noted), the School Board of Intermediate District 287 agrees to provide Administrators and Unaffiliated Employees with benefits according to the provisions included herein. This Guide only pertains to those employees whose job classifications are designated as Administrator or Unaffiliated and does not apply to non-regular employees appointed to non-regular positions on a temporary, durational or emergency basis not to exceed six (6) months.

This Guide supersedes and cancels all prior practices, understandings, and resolutions whether written or oral, unless expressly stated to the contrary herein, and constitutes the complete and entire Guide. The Guide is intended to be used for informational purposes and does not represent a contract for employment or an extension of benefits, or legal protections beyond those already supplied in statute, regulation, or policy.

The best and most complete information concerning the provisions of federal and state laws, and District policies and procedures is contained in the laws, policies and procedures themselves, not in the summary of their provisions that is contained in this Guide.

Administrators and Unaffiliated Employees will perform their duties and responsibilities to the best of their abilities for the entire school and calendar year as adopted by the School Board. Their assignments will remain in full force and effect except as modified by the parties in consultation with Human Resources. All assignments will be consistent with the employee’s job classification and the operating needs of the District.

These positions are salaried. Salary ranges will be reviewed periodically as determined by the Director of Human Resources.

Administrators and Unaffiliated Employees will be evaluated annually using such form(s) and/or process(es) prescribed by the Director of Human Resources. The total of an employee’s salary adjustments, as determined by the Board, will be added to the employee’s annual base salary.

Section A: Salary Adjustment: A 2% increase to Administrators and Unaffiliated employees’ salaries shall be effective July 1, 2023, and a 2% increase to Administrators and Unaffiliated employees’ salaries shall be effective July 1, 2024.

Employees hired on or before January 15 will be eligible for a salary advancement as defined in this Article. Employees hired after January 15 will be eligible for a salary advancement as defined in this Article the following year.

Section B: Performance Pay: Employees hired on or before January 15th will be eligible for a performance pay as defined in this Article. Employees hired after January 15 will be eligible for a performance pay as defined in this Article the following year. Performance pay may be provided based on the employee’s annual performance goals. Performance pay is a percentage of an employee’s annual salary after the salary adjustment (Section A), and is paid out in a lump sum in June of each year.

Section B.1: Performance Pay Amounts. The School Board shall set performance pay amounts as follows for each year of this Guide:
 

Employees who wish to take career mobility classes offered by the District will be reimbursed for tuition and textbooks upon verification of successful completion of the course. In addition, employees will be reimbursed up to $2,000.00 each school year for tuition, fees, and textbooks upon verification of successful completion of courses outside the District or for earning professional licenses, certifications or re-certifications. The course, license, certification or recertification must contribute to increased efficiency in the employee's position and/or career objectives within District 287. Prior approval must be obtained from the employee's supervisor. For the purposes of this Article, part-time employees as defined in Article 11, will be reimbursed on a prorated basis.

Each administrator may join two professional organizations of their choice at District expense each year.

Administrators who complete or have completed a terminal degree, such as, Education Specialist or Doctorate, beyond that which is required in the applicable job classification will receive a one-time two percent (2%) increase added to their base pay. Any administrator who completes a terminal degree starting July 1, 2024, will receive an annual $2000 stipend. Unaffiliated employees who complete or have completed an advanced degree beyond that which is required in the applicable job classification will receive a one-time one percent (1%) increase added to their base pay. Any Unaffiliated employee who completes a terminal degree as starting July 1, 2024, will receive an annual $2000 stipend. To qualify for such payments, the degree must be directly related to the employee’s position or career progression.

Section A. The salary ranges applicable to employees covered by this Guide are found in the Salary Table.

Section B. Salary increases as outlined in Article 5 are effective only upon affirmative action of the School Board. The School Board reserves the right to withhold salary increases due to deficiencies in the employee’s performance.

Section A. Selection of Carrier: The selection of the insurance carrier and policy will be made by the School Board. Employees shall have the option of enrolling in a deductible plan.

Section B. Eligibility: Employees who work thirty (30) hours per week (.75 FTE) or more will be considered full-time for the purposes of this Article.

Section C. Health and Hospitalization Insurance:

The School Board shall contribute the following amounts, for all eligible and enrolled employees, toward health insurance premiums as outlined in the table below:

The School Board will establish and maintain a health reimbursement account. For any employee who elects to enroll in the Single Deductible Plan or the Family Deductible Plan, the School Board shall contribute to the employee’s Health Reimbursement Account as outlined in the table below:

Employees who follow the process to waive health insurance coverage will receive an amount equal to 100% of the annual premium in cash in lieu of benefits for the single medical coverage based on the District’s contribution to the single deductible plan. The annual premium amount of cash in lieu of benefits will be prorated based on the date the insurance was waived for new hires and/or staff who waive the insurance after the start of the medical plan year.

Employees who waived insurance prior to July 1, 2017 and who follow the process to waive health insurance coverage in the current year will receive an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the annual premium for family medical coverage based on the District’s contribution to the deductible plans. One-half (1/2) of the amount to be received will be included in the employee’s salary; the other half (1/2) will be deposited as a retirement incentive into a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) with a Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) Trust that will allow access upon retirement or resignation of employment from District 287. Earned contributions will be deposited in equal installments over the employee’s annual payroll.

Section D. Life Insurance: The School Board will pay the premium cost for each full-time employee who qualifies for and is enrolled in the District’s group life insurance plan. The amount of life insurance coverage will be equal to two (2) times the employee’s annual salary rounded to the nearest thousand.

Subsection 1: Supplemental life insurance equal to one (1) or two (2) times the employee’s salary is available to employees who qualify under this Article. The employee shall pay the entire cost of such insurance.

Subsection 2: Dependent life insurance in the amount of $10,000, $20,000 or $50,000 for an employee’s spouse and $2,000 or $5,000 for each child is available to employees who qualify under this Article. The employee shall pay the entire cost of such insurance.
 

Section E. Long-Term Disability: The School Board will contribute a sum equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the premium cost for disability coverage for each full-time employee who qualifies for and is enrolled in the District’s long-term disability insurance plan.

Administrators who have qualified for long-term disability and who previously qualified for the District’s health insurance benefits will have these benefits maintained for a period of one (1) year from the date of disability. Thereafter, the administrator will pay the costs for this benefit.

Section F. Dental Coverage:

Subsection 1: The School Board will contribute toward the premium cost for single coverage for each full-time employee who qualifies for and is enrolled in the District’s dental plan. The School Board’s contribution will be $395.40 each fiscal year.

Subsection 2: The School Board will contribute toward the premium cost for family coverage for each full-time employee who qualifies for and is enrolled in the District’s dental plan. The School

Employees who follow the process to waive dental insurance coverage will receive an amount equal to 100% of the annual premium in cash in lieu of benefits for the single dental coverage based on the District’s contribution. The annual premium amount of cash in lieu of benefits will be prorated based on the date the insurance was waived for new hires and/or staff who waive the insurance after the start of the dental plan year. Board’s contribution will be $439.92 each fiscal year.

Employees who have waived insurance prior to July 1, 2017 and who follow the process to waive dental insurance coverage in the current year will receive an amount equal to 100% of the annual premium for single dental coverage based on the District’s contribution. One-half (1/2) of the amount to be received will be included in the employee’s salary; the other half (1/2) will be deposited as a retirement incentive into a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) with a Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) Trust that will allow access upon retirement or resignation of employment from District 287. Earned contributions will be deposited in equal installments over the employee’s annual payroll.

Section G. Duration of Insurance Contribution: Unless otherwise specified, qualified employees will be eligible for School Board contributions as long as employees are employed by the District. Upon the termination of employment, voluntary or involuntary, all School Board contributions will cease effective at the end of the month in which the employee last worked, except as otherwise specified in Article 18, Section B.

The employee has the option of retaining health care and dental insurance in accordance with COBRA. Basic life, supplemental life, and dependent life insurance may be converted to individual life insurance policies to be continued at the employee’s expense.

Employees who retire prior to Medicare/Medicaid eligibility, as provided in Article 16, Section F, will be entitled to coverage under the District’s Health and Hospitalization Plan until Medicare/Medicaid eligibility. The employee will pay the entire cost of such insurance.

Section A. Procedure: Supervisors must be informed of and approve in advance all requests for leaves of absence.

Section B. Sick Leave: At the beginning of each fiscal year, each 1.0 FTE employee shall be credited with ninety six (96) hours of sick leave. Leave shall be prorated for all employees working at least .35 FTE but less than 1.0 FTE. Requests for sick leave must be submitted to the employee’s supervisor and properly registered on the automated leave system.

Subsection 1: Unused sick leave may accumulate without limit for all employees.

Subsection 2: Sick leave with pay will be allowed by the School Board whenever an employee’s absence is caused by illness which prevented the employee’s attendance and performance of duties on that day(s), or for safety leave. Safety leave includes leave due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of the employee or employee's family member, provided the leave is for the purpose of seeking certain medical, psychological, legal or relocation services.

Subsection 3: Human Resources or a supervisor may require an employee to furnish a medical certificate from a qualified physician to substantiate a request for sick leave for the following reasons:

1. Any period of absence consisting of more than three (3) consecutive working days;
    
2. To support sick leave of any duration during a vacation or immediately adjacent to a vacation;
    
3. Leave of any duration if absence from duty occurs frequently or habitually; and/or
    
4. Leave of any duration if there is reasonable cause for requiring such a certificate.

The final determination as to the eligibility of an employee to use sick leave rests with the School Board.

Subsection 4: Allowed sick leave will be deducted from the accrued sick leave days earned by the employee.

Subsection 5: Sick leave may be used for absence due to illness of the following members of the employee’s family: spouse/domestic partner; child; grandchild; sibling; parent; parent-in-law; grandparent; or stepparent, and also any relative who is domiciled in the employee’s household. Sick leave also may be used for doctor’s appointments.

An employee who is disabled due to pregnancy may use available sick leave during the time of a physician-determined disability.

Section C. Personal Leave: Full-time employees will be eligible for twenty-four (24) hours of personal leave per year. Personal leave shall be prorated for all employees working less than 1.0 FTE. Leave requests for personal leave must be submitted to the employee’s supervisor and properly registered on the automated leave system at least three (3) days in advance of the requested leave. Personal leave days are not carried over from year to year.

Section D. Bereavement Leave: Employees shall be granted up to five (5) days with pay per occurrence because of the death of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, parent/guardian, grandparent, grandchild, parent-in-law, son/daughter-in-law, step/foster child, step/foster parent, sibling or any other relative domiciled in the employee’s household. Up to four (4) days of any type of accrued leave may be allowed upon the death of any relative or friend not listed above.

Section E. Workers’ Compensation: For an employee who is absent from work as a result of a compensable injury under the Workers’ Compensation Act, the District will pay the difference between the compensation received by the employee pursuant to the Act and the employee’s regular rate of pay, to the extent the employee has accumulated sick leave and/or vacation pay.

Subsection 1: A deduction will be made from the employee’s accumulated vacation or sick leave time according to the pro rata portions of days of sick leave or vacation time used to supplement worker’s compensation benefits.

Subsection 2: Such payment will be paid by the District to the employee only during the period of disability due to the compensable injury.

Subsection 3: In no event will the additional compensation paid to the employee by virtue of sick leave or vacation pay result in the payment of a total daily, weekly or monthly compensation that exceeds the normal compensation of the employee.

Subsection 4: Any employee who is absent from work as a result of an injury compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act who elects to receive sick leave or vacation pay pursuant to this Article will submit his or her workers’ compensation check, endorsed to the District, prior to receiving payment from the District for being absent.

Section F. Childcare Leave: A childcare leave without pay or fringe benefits may be granted to an employee by the School Board subject to the provisions of this Section. Childcare leave will be granted because of the need to provide care for dependent children of the employee consistent with the applicable FMLA and Minnesota Statute provisions.

Subsection 1: Employees requesting childcare leave will inform the supervisor in writing of their request at least three (3) calendar months in advance.

Subsection 2: The supervisor may adjust the proposed beginning or ending date of a childcare leave so that the dates of the leave are coincident with some natural break in the school year.

Subsection 3: The employee must notify the supervisor in writing, not later than thirty (30) calendar days prior to expiration of the leave, of plans to return to duty.

Subsection 4: Failure of the employee to return to work on the date determined in the leave request may result in termination of the employee unless the District and the employee mutually agree to an extension.

Subsection 5: Employees who return within the provisions of this subsection will retain previously accrued vacation and sick leave credits. Additional credits for vacation and sick leave will not accrue during the leave.

Subsection 6: An employee on childcare leave is eligible to continue participation in group insurance programs as permitted under the insurance policy provisions. After the expiration of federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) insurance benefits, or in the event an employee is not eligible for FMLA, an employee on extended leave may continue participation in the group insurance programs as permitted by the insurance policy provisions and COBRA. It is the employee’s responsibility to initiate continuation of insurance benefits during a leave. The employee should contact their supervisor and Human Resources regarding leaves of absence.

Section G. Unpaid Family Medical Leave: A full-time employee who has been employed by the District for at least one year and has worked at least 1250 hours in the previous twelve (12) months, will be granted, upon application, an unpaid family and medical leave of absence of up to twelve (12) weeks in order to care for a spouse, child or parent/guardian of the employee if that relative has a serious health condition or because of a serious health condition that makes an employee unable to perform the essential functions of the job. An employee on unpaid family and medical leave will continue to receive group insurance benefits and employer-paid premiums for up to twelve (12) weeks.

Employees who do not use sick leave for a period of six (6) consecutive months will be eligible for one (1) additional day off with pay. The additional day must be used within twelve (12) months of earning the additional day. Requests for time off for this purpose will not be unreasonably withheld.

Section A. Basic Workweek: Exclusive of lunch, the standard workweek for full-time non-exempt Unaffiliated Employees will be forty (40) hours per week. Subject to the operating needs of the District, Unaffiliated Employees will be granted break periods of fifteen (15) minutes in each half-day. Depending upon the job classification and needs of the District, an employee may have regularly scheduled starting and ending times.

Employees are expected to work the number of hours required to perform their jobs. There may be some occasions that will require employees to work extra hours in addition to their normal work schedule.

Section B. Part-time Employees: The School Board will hire employees on a part-time or casual basis as it deems desirable or necessary.

Subsection 1: Except as otherwise specified, employees working less than thirty-two (32) hours per week will be considered part-time and may be assigned a specific work schedule.

Section C. Work Assignment: Any variance in the regularly scheduled work assignment must be approved by the employee’s supervisor.

Section D. Site Closure or Program Cancellation:

The Superintendent or official designee has sole authority to close District sites or cancel student programs.

Site Closure (neither students nor staff should report to that site): The Superintendent’s action to close a District site(s), including leased sites and those owned by other entities, would cancel student programs held there and indicate that District staff whose only assignment(s) is/are in that site(s) should not report to that site and the Supervisor will provide work direction. Staff who are assigned to more than one site are expected to report to any sites that are open. Conditions may dictate different decisions for different sites.

If an employee has approved paid or unpaid leave already registered in the automated leave/substitute system scheduled for the same day as a site closure, their paid leave (if registered as paid time) or their salary (if registered as unpaid) will be deducted.

Program Cancellation (staff should report or take leave): The Superintendent’s action to cancel student programs means that those programs will not serve students, but does not mean that the site is “closed” to staff. Therefore, staff should report to work or enter their absence into the automated leave system.

Section A. Paid Days Off: Full-time employees will receive twelve (12) paid days off per year. Paid days off are New Year’s Day, Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Fourth (4th) Thursday and Friday in November, December 25, and two (2) additional paid days off to be determined annually by the School Board. In the event a paid day off falls on a Saturday or Sunday, another week day will be designated by the District.

Part-time employees will receive prorated paid days off based on their regularly scheduled work day.

In addition, employees who have completed five (5) continuous years of service will be granted one (1) paid floating day off each school year. Requests for a floating day off must be submitted to the supervisor at least three (3) days in advance of the requested date to ensure proper coverage. Floating days off must be taken before June 30 each year and in eight (8) hour or full-day increments. Failure to use the floating day off in the year (July 1 - June 30) it is allocated will result in forfeiture of the floating day off.

Section A. Vacation Leave:

Subsection 1: All vacation leave must be approved in advance by the supervisor to ensure proper coverage.

Subsection 2: Vacation pay will be calculated on the basis of the employee’s regular hourly rate at the time of his or her vacation. Holidays during vacation periods will not count as vacation time.

Subsection 3: Employees should not use vacation on an All District Workshop Day.

Subsection 4: Any employee beginning employment with the District between the first and fifteenth day of the month will be credited with that month as his or her first month of employment for purposes of vacation accrual.

Subsection 5: Any employee beginning employment with the District between the sixteenth day and the end of the month will not accrue vacation time for the month.

Subsection 6: Time spent on unpaid leave of absence for any full month will not be counted toward yearly vacation accrual.

Subsection 7: Part-time employees (working less than 2,088 hours) will have prorated vacation benefits based on the number of hours worked.

Subsection 8: Employees who have completed at least six (6) months of employment with the District and who leave the District prior to their anniversary date will receive prorated vacation credit.

Section B. Amount of Vacation:

Subsection 1: A full-time Administrator will accrue vacation leave on the basis of two hundred forty (240) hours per year.

Subsection 2: A newly hired full-time Unaffiliated Employee will accrue vacation leave on the basis of one hundred sixty (160) hours per year.

A full-time Unaffiliated Employee who has completed five (5) years of service with the District will accrue vacation leave on the basis of two hundred (200) hours per year.
 

Section C. Vacation Leave Cash Out:

Subsection 1: Each year, an employee is eligible to have up to seven (7) unused accrued vacation days paid out to them at the end of the fiscal year. Part-time employees will have their vacation days prorated based on the number of hours worked in order to determine how many days/hours of vacation they are eligible to have paid out.

Subsection 2: To be eligible for a vacation pay “cash out” an employee must have more than two hundred and forty (240) hours accumulated vacation leave hours on June 30 and must have used two-thirds (2/3) of their annual vacation accrual during the current fiscal year.

Subsection 3: The “cash out” amount will be equal to the employee’s regular hourly rate at the time of cash out multiplied by the unused vacation leave hours up to seven (7) days. Payment for the “cash out” will be made by June 30. Employees must submit written notification for the vacation pay “cash out” to Human Resources by June 1 for the current fiscal year.

The maximum accumulation of vacation leave will be three hundred sixty (360) hours. Any employee having more than three hundred sixty (360) hours of vacation on June 30 of any year, shall forfeit all hours in excess of three hundred sixty (360).

Employees who leave District employment voluntarily (by resigning or retiring not in lieu of termination) shall receive a payout of all accrued and unused vacation time up to the maximum accumulation of vacation leave.

The District will engage in progressive discipline. There may be circumstances when a performance concern is so serious that progressive discipline is not appropriate and/or certain non-disciplinary or disciplinary actions may be skipped.

The following are steps that may be followed in the event of a performance concern:

Section A. Non-Disciplinary Actions (one or more may be used when performance concerns are relatively minor):

• Informal counseling
• Formal counseling
• Letter of direction
• Performance Improvement Plan

Section B. Disciplinary Actions (one or more may be used when non-disciplinary actions are not effective and/or performance/conduct concerns are serious):

• Written reprimand
• Suspension
• Termination

The District may reimburse administrators and unaffiliated employees up to $2000 per incident for the replacement or repair of personal property, such as eyeglasses, cell phones, vehicles, and clothing, damaged by a student or colleague while performing your job. Such reimbursement shall be contingent upon the administrator and unaffiliated employee providing a receipt and/or any other necessary supporting documentation, and shall be solely at the District’s discretion.

Employees requested to report for jury duty are to notify Human Resources and their supervisor immediately. The employee will be reimbursed for the difference between the amount received for jury duty (exclusive of mileage, parking, or other personal expense reimbursement) and the employee’s regular salary. This amount is payable upon receipt of proper evidence as to jury service and the amount of compensation received.

In the event of a position elimination, any Administrator who is in a position requiring a license by the Professional Educators Licensing & Standards Board (PELSB) and who has successfully completed a minimum of one (1) year of employment with ISD 287 in the position requiring the license, will be placed on an unrequested leave of absence pursuant to Minnesota law.

Section A. Administrators: Administrators who are terminated due to a position elimination without the opportunity to apply for an open position for which they are licensed and/or qualified will be eligible to receive severance pay. Employees with five (5) years of service but less than ten (10) years of service who are terminated due to a position elimination will receive forty five (45) days of severance pay. Employees with ten (10) years of service but less than fifteen (15) years of service will receive sixty five (65) days of severance pay. Employees with more than fifteen (15) years but less than twenty (20) years of service will receive eighty five (85) days of severance pay. Employees with twenty (20) or more years of service will receive one hundred five (105) days of severance pay.

Section B. Unaffiliated Employees: Unaffiliated employees who are terminated due to a position elimination without the opportunity to apply for an open position for which they are qualified will be eligible to receive severance pay. Employees with five (5) years of service but less than ten (10) years of service who are terminated due to a position elimination will receive one hundred sixty five (165) hours of severance pay. Employees with ten (10) years of service but less than fifteen (15) years of service will receive two hundred forty five (245) hours of severance pay. Employees with more than fifteen (15) years but less than twenty (20) years of service will receive three hundred twenty five (325) hours of severance pay. Employees with more than twenty (20) years of service will receive four hundred five (405) hours of severance pay.

Section A. Administrators, TRA and PERA: Administrators may retire in accordance with the applicable state and federal laws.

Section B. Retirement/Disability Benefits: The District will continue its contribution to health and hospitalization insurance costs for disabled employees until long-term disability coverage becomes effective, to a maximum of ninety (90) days. The District will also continue its contribution to health and hospitalization insurance costs for ninety (90) days.

Section C. 403(b) Matching Contribution Plan:

Subsection 1: The District’s 403(b) Matching Contribution Plan is designed to provide employees with an annual tax-deferred monetary benefit. The District provides a matching contribution to the employee’s 403(b) Plan according to eligibility as specified to be effective July 1, 2001. Employees may defer additional amounts of their income up to the maximum contribution allowed by statute to the 403(b) Matching Contribution Plan or to other eligible Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) plans, which are permissible by law and approved by the District.

Subsection 2: Employees who are working .8 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) or greater (derived either on an hours per week or days per year basis) may participate with the District match contributions prorated according to FTE.

Subsection 3: Enrollment will be based on the following criteria. An employee must complete an application form when the employee: 1) first enrolls; 2) first becomes eligible to receive a School District matching amount; and/or 3) makes a change in contribution amount and/or carrier or is eligible for a School District match amount increase.

Subsection 4: Employees may choose from tax sheltered annuity (TSA) plans which are permissible by law and approved by the District.

Subsection 5a. Administrators: The District will match eligible annual employee contributions up to the match limit of $3000 for July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024 and $5000 for July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025. The maximum District Cumulative Contribution for Administrators will be $60,000 and $75,000 starting July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025.

Subsection 5b. Unaffiliated Employees: The District will match eligible annual employee contributions according to the years of service and up to the amounts shown below. Years of service must be completed on or before September 15.

July 1, 2023- June 30, 2024
1-4 completed years     $1000
5+ completed years      $2000

July 1, 2024- June 30, 2025
1-4 completed years     $2000
5+ completed years      $3000

The maximum District Cumulative Contribution for Unaffiliated Employees will be $40,000 and $55,000 starting July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025.

Subsection 6: The District will contribute annually an amount equal to the amount contributed by the employee up to the match limits noted in Subsections 5a and 5b. This amount shall not exceed the amounts outlined in Subsection 5a and 5b, nor shall it exceed the amount that can be contributed legally.

Section D. Retirement Incentive:
Employees who’s start date is prior to July 1, 2024
Full-time employees who retire after completing ten (10) years of full-time service and are at least fifty five (55) years of age will receive a lump sum in the amount of one hundred twenty (120) days of pay.

This payment will be calculated on the basis of the employee’s rate of pay at the time of retirement. The amount that the District has contributed as a match to the 403(b) account will be deducted from the lump sum payment. Sixty-five (65%) of that amount will go directly into the retiree’s TSA plan retirement account and thirty-five (35%) will be placed as a retirement incentive into a Post-Retirement Health Care Savings Plan account administered by the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS).

A retirement incentive will not be granted to any employee who is involuntarily discharged, terminated, or resigns in lieu of termination.

Sick Leave Reimbursement: For the purposes of this Article and employees who meet the eligibility requirements of Article 18, Section D, employees who retire from the District will receive an amount equal to the value of seventy-five percent (75%) of their total accumulated sick leave up to a maximum of 1976 hours. Sixty-five (65%) will go directly into the retiree’s TSA plan retirement account and thirty-five (35%) will be placed as a retirement incentive into a Post-Retirement Health Care Savings Plan account administered by the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS).

Method of Payment of Amounts in Article 18, Sections D: At retirement, retirees shall receive a School District contribution into their TSA plan account according to Sections D and E, provided that the amount does not exceed contribution limits set out in section 415(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. If at retirement, the amount would cause the retiree to exceed contribution limits set out in section 415(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, the remaining amount shall be contributed into the retiree’s TSA plan account the following January.

Benefit Continuation: Employees who retire prior to the age of Medicare eligibility may elect to continue participation in a group hospitalization and dental plan established by this Guide with the employee assuming full premium cost, after ninety (90) days, until the age of Medicare eligibility. Monthly premiums must be paid by the retired employee one (1) month in advance to the Finance Department or the designated agent.

Notification: To be eligible for the benefits described in Article 18, Section D, employees must submit written notification of retirement to Human Resources at least two (2) months prior to the effective date of retirement, unless HR and the employee’s supervisor have agreed to a shorter notice period.

Estate Payment: In the event of the death of the employee, and at the time of death the employee would have been entitled to receive (upon retirement) unconverted sick leave, and a retirement incentive, those amounts will be dispersed in the same manner as provided in Sections D., E., and F. above. Unconverted vacation days will be paid to the employee’s estate or surviving spouse or other family members in accordance with applicable Minnesota Statutes.

Employees who’s start date is on or after July 1, 2024, will be eligible for the following Retirement Incentive.

Employees will receive an annual $1500 contribution into a Health Care Savings Plan (HCSP) with Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS). Eligible employees include those that are actively employed on June 30th of each year.

Employees will be reimbursed for all pre-approved business expenses including, if eligible, a cellular phone connected with their position or assignment.

The School Board will reimburse employees in accordance with the mileage rate established by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). In lieu of being reimbursed at the mileage rate established by the GSA, Administrators may elect to receive a mileage stipend per pay period. Administrators will be allowed to change their election once annually to be effective on the next July 1.

Administrators are entitled to attend pre-approved in-state professional development opportunities (such as a seminar, conference, or symposium) each year, and one pre-approved out-of-state professional development opportunity (such as a seminar, conference, or symposium) every other year, at District expense. The same approval requirements for other administrators’ professional development apply to these opportunities.

Each employee who has completed not less than five (5) years of District service will receive a career increment based on the years of service and amounts shown below:

Administrators will receive career increments in two lump sum payments; the first will be paid on the last pay day in December and the second on the last pay day in June. The amounts listed above are not part of the Administrator’s base salary.

Career increments will be paid to Unaffiliated Employees hired prior to July 1, 2020 as part of their annual salary.

Employees hired for an unaffiliated position July 1, 2020 or later, salary increases will be calculated based on the employee’s annual salary minus their career increment.

Career increments will be paid retroactively based on service completed as of the last day of December and the last day of June in the preceding fiscal year.

If an employee separates from the District, the career increment employment date will be based on their rehire date.

For the purposes of this Article, part-time years of District service will be credited on a pro-rated basis.

Employees will follow all School Board policies, District procedures and the provisions of the Employee Handbook. Failure to do so will result in appropriate corrective action up to and including termination.

Section A: All employees will be paid through direct deposit. Employees will be paid in twenty-four (24) equal semi-monthly installments through electronic payroll deposit on the 15th and last working day of each month. When the 15th or last working day of the month falls on a holiday, Saturday, or Sunday, payment will be made the weekday before.

Section B: Annual salaries for full-time employees will be calculated on the basis of 2,088 hours (1.0 FTE) each year. Part-time (less than 1.0 FTE) employees’ salaries will be pro-rated based on the 1.0FTE definition described herein.

Section C: Employees who work less than 12 months, will be paid in twenty (20) equal semi-monthly installments through electronic payroll deposit on the 15th and last working day of each month. When the 15th or last working day of the month falls on a holiday, Saturday, or Sunday, payment will be made the weekday before.

Guide Term: This Guide will remain in full force and effect for the period commencing July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025.

Administrators 2023-2025

*Salary is based on 2088 hours

Administrators 2023-2025 - Senior Manager/Manager Level

*Salary is based on 2088 hours

Unaffiliated Employees 2023-2025

 *Salary is based on 2088 hours