A. Sabbatical leave for study shall be granted, or rejected, by a joint committee of the Board and the
B. All applications must be submitted not later than February 1st of the year in which consideration is asked. The merit of the particular program chosen should be set forth by the applying teacher in a letter to the Board.
C. If sabbatical leave is granted by the Committee referred to in Clause (A) hereof, the amount of the bursary shall be determined by the Board in consultation with the candidate but in no case shall the allowance be less than one-half of the salary he/she would have received had he/she not been on sabbatical.
D. Payment of the award shall be made on a monthly basis in the same manner as it is presently for teachers on staff. Payment of the award shall be made with the provision that the teacher shall return to the Division. If the teacher desires to seek employment elsewhere, he/she shall repay the amount received as set out below:
1. If not returning - full repayment.
2. If returning for one year only - fifty percent (50%)
If a teacher fails to return after sabbatical, full repayment shall be made on or before September 1st of the year that the teacher would normally resume work in the Division.
E. Not more than one teacher for every one hundred (100) teaching staff shall be granted sabbatical leave in any one year.
F. Where all other considerations are equal, seniority shall be the basis for awarding sabbatical leave.
G. Sabbatical leave shall not constitute a break in tenure but will not count as a year of experience for the purpose of increments. There shall be no accumulation of sick leave during the period in which a teacher is absent on sabbatical leave.