How much leave do school employees utilize? An analysis of sick leave policies and their relationship to the amount of leave used by school employees in Missouri public schools

The purpose of this study is three fold (1) to describe district leave policies offered by Missouri public school districts; (2) examine the connection district demographics have on these leave policies; and (3) compare the provisions of leave policies used in Missouri and their corresponding relationship to teacher absenteeism during the 2002-2003 school year.; The study utilizes data collected from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Missouri State Teachers Association, the National Center for Educational Statistics, the United States Census, and from a survey sent to each school district to obtain additional information.; The data shows that Missouri districts offer certified employees sick leave, personal leave, and bereavement leave. The number of leave days varies among districts and 58 districts utilize flexible leave plans that combine all types of leave into one category. The number of sick days offered by districts range from 0 to unlimited number of days with personal days ranging from 0 to 15 days. Bereavement leave ranges from 0 to unlimited number of days. The majority of districts require employees to utilize sick or personal days for bereavement purposes.; There is a relationship between district demographics and employee leave benefits. The number of sick days offered in districts with 4,001 or more students is significantly higher than the number of sick days offered in smaller districts. Districts with less than 20% of their student population on free and reduced lunch provided more sick leave than districts with higher percentages of students on free and reduced lunch. 43% of the variance in the number of leave days between districts is accounted for by the district demographic variables of median household income, average per pupil expenditures, and enrollment.; Results indicate that the higher the allowable leave days, the higher the absenteeism rate. Employees with sick leave banks used an average of 1.1 more days than employees that did not have a sick leave bank. In districts with defined benefit plans, employees used an average of 8.5 days; whereas, in districts with flexible benefit plans employees used an average of 6.9 days of leave.