Unless otherwise set forth in the terms of an individual contract or applicable collective bargaining agreement, professional staff members of the Governing Board with ten (10) or more years of service with the Board, the State, any political subdivision, or any combination thereof may elect, at the time of retirement from active service with the Board and upon presentation of evidence of service retirement from the appropriate retirement system, to receive severance pay for their accrued but unused sick leave in the amount of one-fourth (1/4) of accumulated sick days to a maximum of fifty (50) days.

Severance pay shall be based upon the professional staff member's rate of pay at the time of retirement and eliminates the employee's entire sick leave accrual upon payment.

If an employee dies on or after the date upon which s/he becomes eligible for severance payment under the provisions of this policy, the employee will be deemed to have retired on the date of death and the Board will provide severance payment to his/her estate in the amount as determined herein.

A professional staff member, in order to receive severance pay in the amount determined above, shall have provided written notification to the Board of his/her intention to retire at least one (1) month prior to his/her last day of service.

Payment shall be made no later than sixty (60) days after the application is filed and the professional staff member's retirement is verified to the office of the Superintendent by the retirement system.

Severance payment shall be made only once to a professional staff member.

Payment may be made on the employee's behalf to a qualified tax-sheltered 403(b), health retirement, or other qualified plan upon direction of the employee and to the extent permitted by law.

Retired rehires shall not qualify for severance pay.

For purposes of this policy "retirement" means service retirement under State Teachers Retirement System or the School Employees Retirement System and does not include disability retirement.

R.C. 124.39(B)

Revised 12/20/06