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Granite School District > Superintendent's Office > Sup’s Vlog > Benefits

Benefits

Question – Faculty Perks

Question – As faculty and staff, we used to be given a small card that allowed us to get into district sports events, musicals, plays, etc., for free. Then we were no longer given the card, but were told that our teacher ID badge would get us in for free. Since we get so few perks as teachers, I really loved this one. I would get in free and often bring someone else with me who would buy a ticket. However, in the last few years, some schools no longer allowed us in for free. I also believe that new teachers don’t even know about this. So my question is, does this great perk still exist?  If so, is it across the whole district or does each school get to decide if they’ll honor it or not?

Answer – Unfortunately, this perk never “officially,” existed.  In fact, the card really came to be in pre-computer days to help employees with HR and benefits identification purposes.  That having been said, many schools, including community ed., did give discounts to employees and the card was a practical tool to demonstrate employee status.  Over the last 20 or so years, the cards stopped being necessary for their intended purpose and they haven’t been printed for quite some time.  HOWEVER, many of our schools do allow free or discounted employee access to events.  The District allows individual schools to make those decisions. If there is a school event you’re interested in attending, by all means check with them in advance to see if free or discounted access is offered before finalizing your plans.

Thanks for your question!

Question – Sick Leave Hours

Question – This is my twenty-eighth year as a teacher in Granite District. Even with having four children and one major surgery. I still have over five hundred hours of sick leave. There is no compensation for those sick leave hours when I retire, which saves the district money. However, I know of some teachers, who could use my sick leave hours. They do not have any because they have wasted their sick leave but have serious health problems. They do not have any hours left and need to have their pay deducted to compensate for their lack of sick hours until short term disability kicks in to use. Is there any way that I could donate some of my hours to someone else? It would not save the district any money, but it would be compassion for those who are in need.

Response – We often say that the best insurance policy an employee can have is a large accrued sick leave balance. That is great that you have been able to accumulate such a large amount of sick leave over the years. I believe your sick leave balance shows your dedication to the noble career you have chosen.

Although Granite School District does not have a Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank (where employees can donate sick days), GSD does have two specific insurance policies in place to help employees who have depleted their sick leave balance. These two policies are known as Short/Long-Term Disability (STD). STD benefits pay a percentage (80%) of an employee’s salary if the employee becomes temporarily disabled, meaning they are unable to work for a short period of time due to sickness or injury (excluding on-the-job injuries which are covered by worker’s compensation insurance). STD benefits are also intended to serves as an income “bridge” during the period a claim has been submitted for Long-Term Disability (LTD). LTD benefits are in place to provide income (66.67%) to the employee who is unable to work for a long period of time (beyond four months).

Both of these policies help to ensure that even if an employee has used all of their accrued sick and personal leave, they have options for not only continued salary, but also continued insurance benefits as well. In addition, employees who have sick leave do not feel obligated or pressured to donate from their own accrued sick leave balances.

We would remind you as well, that when you began your career with Granite, retirees could choose between a percentage buy-out of unused sick leave or receive a payment of 1/2 of 1% times the # of years of service.  As it worked out, the calculation was always a higher number than buy-out.  Recognizing the better deal, teachers negotiated the calculation into the professional agreement (see Article 23.1.2) and dropped the buy-out option.

Thanks to the Benefits Office for their assistance in responding to this question.

Question – Benefits for Part-Time Employees

Question:

To my understanding the district doesn’t hire anymore contract part-time employees. My question is……why can’t part time employees that work 30 hours that are not on a contract get insurance through the district? If we are paying for it on our own why don’t you offer that for those that work 30 hours?

Response:

Let’s talk a minute about contract employment.  It would be optimal if all employment with the school district came with health insurance, retirement benefits, life insurance, vacation and so on – regardless of the number of hours required per week, month or year and regardless of the licensure or skill level requirements of a given position.  This scenario is absolutely what we wish we could provide.  In point of fact, there are countries which provide universal health care and similar benefits to all.  There are diferences of opinion on this, but the reality is that we do not live in one of those countries. 

Although we recognize that all positions have critical responsibilities (or they would have been eliminated by now), contract positions have time commitments and tend to have license, training or supervisory requirements that hourly positions do not.  Benefits offered by the district are then associated with those commitments and requirements. 

On the business side, the question is specific to health insurance.  Granite School District contributes a very large portion of the insurance premium for insurance eligible employees. For example, a full-time single employee pays $21.90 per month for medical, while GSD pays $416.40 per month for that employee.  The cost is considerably higher when insurance is extended to spouses and other dependents – “paying for” family insurance is more than $12,000 per year with the district paying for more than more than 90% of the cost and the employee contribution less than 10%.  Consequently, the health insurance benefit has long been associated with, and reserved for, contracts.

Having said all this,  hourly employment is a great opportunity for an employee to get a good look at the district and for the district to get a good look at the prospective contract employee.  Hourly employees who are interested in a long-term contract relationship with the district are encouraged to take advantage of training and similar opportunities available through the district to position themselves with the expertise and experience to compete successfully for contracts.