“he’s always at school.” And while we can
clearly see the damage long hours take on
other staff, it’s easy to be blind to the toll our
work takes on ourselves and the relation-
ships most important to us.
In our district, when we are at our best, we
unequivocally promote the value of moving
away from the work, relaxing, rejuvenating,
and returning with a renewed commitment
to the mission of the organization. We tell
those we supervise that taking breaks to
recharge batteries is sometimes just as im-
portant for an employee’s success as the long
hours that inevitably come with their jobs.
While we would like principals and other
administrators on duty when school is in
session, we also support reasonable use of
non-work days during school that enrich
and enhance parts of administrators’ lives
outside work.
We have recently adopted a similar posi-
tive work year schedule for confidential em-
ployees and pushed other employee groups
to have positive work years for the same rea-
son. And, while it sometimes feels heartless
to refuse extra pay for more days worked, we
almost always say “no” at every juncture.
But it’s more than just recharging and
rejuvenation. By not working we can gain
the creativity that comes from a healthy
emotional distance from the challenges of
a school year. New approaches to enduring
challenges can flower when we overthrow
the tyranny of the urgent. At a time when
our students seem busier and more stressed
than ever, we leaders can model the health
benefits of down time.
In sum, we honor the often Herculean
efforts of our fabulous team, and then urge
them to go away and regain their strength
and a balanced sense of self.
The trouble with counting
vacation days
In theory, a traditional “work schedule
with vacation days” policy matches a positive
work year strategy when employees exhaust
their vacation balances at the end of every
year. The trouble starts in the rare instance
when district leadership would want to grant
permission for employees to carry over days
to the next year becomes the widespread
practice of allowing district administrators
While we can clearly see the damage long hours take on other staff,
it’s easy to be blind to the toll our work takes on ourselves and the
relationships most important to us.
to accrue unused vacation days.
Not taking all of one’s vacation days an-
nually creates something akin to another
retirement savings account. Over one’s ca-
reer, employees can accumulate a bank of
unused vacation days that can be cashed in
when one retires or moves on. The bank’s
value, and corresponding unfunded liability
of the district, grows much faster than dis-
trict revenues as an employee’s pay increases
with time in the district and any move up the
organizational ladder.
Unchecked, this amount can equal or sur-
pass a year’s worth of salary, and its existence
represents a sizeable, and often growing
unfunded liability on a district’s financial
books.
There are also perverse incentives under
this traditional scheme. Employees at all
levels have a strong incentive to underreport
their vacation days to build their vacation
balance. Allowing vacation balances to grow
reinforces this practice. Upper management
employees with little or no supervisor over-
sight are often the most difficult to monitor
in this regard and, sadly, some of the most
egregious abusers when a district’s poor
management comes to light.
Every year it seems there is an investi-
gatory story where districts are accused of
mismanaging vacation day balances. Or
there is an exposé of a retiree whose last
year included a big vacation day payout that
is painted in the worst light. This damages
confidence in K-12 education in our state.
Abuse of vacation balances is preventable
by using a positive work year. Yes, employees
can work more days. But in our district, they
are not going to get paid for this time unless
they have pre-approved days with specific
extraordinary tasks to perform approved by
the board on the personnel report.
Conclusion: Improved employee
health that is free (or better than free)
Districts offer health insurance to em-
ployees and cover much or even all of the
cost of premiums. Many of us provide exten-
sive employee wellness programs. Both of
these support employee health and wellness,
but come at substantial costs.
Moving from vacation days, that may
or may not be used, to a positive work year
guarantees employees will not work more
than their contracted days. It is a cost-free
strategy to encourage a productive work-life
balance. The positive work year calendar en-
sures that employees will take time to relax
away from work, focus their energies else-
where, engage with family and friends, and
come back to work with renewed vigor and
appreciation.
What’s not to love about that?
Kevin Skelly ([email protected]) is
superintendent of the San Mateo Union
High School District. Kirk Black (kblack@
smuhsd.org) is a deputy superintendent of
the district. They can be reached at (650)
558-2200.
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