2.01 Superintendent

The superintendent of schools shall be elected by a majority vote of the school board. The superintendent is the administrative head of the school system. The superintendent shall have earned 60 hours of graduate credit inclusive of the master's degree. He/She shall have a minimum of four years of professional experience. He/She must be certified by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and must have a Specialist Degree.

2.02 Duties of Superintendent of Schools

1. Chief executive officer of the school board.

2. Shall have general supervision of the school system.

3. Shall implement the policies of the board.

4. He/She and board president shall prepare the agenda for each meeting and attend all meetings. The superintendent shall not attend that part of the meeting when his/her contract is being considered.

5. He/She shall submit for adoption the annual school calendar and the annual budget.

6. He/She shall recommend to the board of education an appointment of all personnel required for teaching, supervision, clerical work, maintenance of buildings, custodial service and any other type of service.

7. He/She shall be responsible for the instructional program and provide for supervision of the same.

8. He/She shall determine matters concerning the emergency discontinuance of school.

9. He/She shall maintain a continuous study of current problems and report to the school board from time to time.

10. He/She shall perform such other duties as determined by a majority vote of the board of education.

2.03 School Board-Superintendent Relationship

The board and superintendent must act as a team in order to have the school function smoothly and effectively.

1. The school board shall legislate policy while the superintendent shall administer the school in line with the policies set by the board.

2. The superintendent shall act in an advisory capacity to the board in legislative matters but the final decision on policies shall be made by the board.

3. Once policies have been set, the superintendent shall be given the responsibility of executing said policies and administrative work.

4. The superintendent alone shall be the executive officer of the board and all other school employees shall be responsible to him/her. There shall be no dual control in the school administration.

2.04 Principals

The principal is the key person in the instructional program and the true professional leader of the school he/she serves. He/She is in charge of and responsible for all activities taking place within his/her building, except when the buildings have been assigned to community groups. The principal is responsible for the planning and operation of a program for the improvement of instruction. The principal is responsible for submitting to the superintendent written evaluations of the efficiency of his/her teachers and he/she is responsible to counsel teachers on deficiencies reported on the evaluations. The principal is the chief administrative officer of the school he/she serves.

2.05 Records of Business Manager Open to Public Inspection

All reports, books, records, contracts, and papers in the office of the business manager relating to school business in the district shall be retained in the office of the business manager and at all times open to the inspection of the president of the board, the secretary of the department of education and county auditor, and at reasonable hours to any voter or taxpayer.

2.06 Authorized Signatures

The business manager will draw and sign all checks or warrants for the payment of verified vouchers approved for payment by the Board. Every check or warrant will be countersigned by the president or any Board member designated by the Board. The check or warrant will specify the person, firm or corporation to whom paid. No check or warrant will be drawn by the business manager except for the indebtedness incurred prior to its issue and upon the

presentation of an itemized invoice, duly verified. The invoice and verification will be retained by the business manager and placed on file in her office.

2.07 Sick Leave Bank

A sick leave assistance bank is established for all administrators with the following conditions and provisions:

1. Administrators may voluntarily contribute up to five (5) days annually by written notification prior to

September 10 to the business manager. Administrators may donate additional days at the end of the year.

2. If the bank is 100 days or below on the first day of school, all administrators must donate one day to the sick leave bank. If the sick leave bank is at 101 days or above on the first day of school, only new administrators must donate one (1) day.

3. An administrator who has exhausted his/her accumulated sick leave may request additional days from the sick leave bank due to:

a. an illness of self, spouse, children, or parents (No single request may be in excess of 10 days.) However, multiple requests will be considered.

b. death of an immediate family member (spouse, children, father, mother, brother, sister) not to exceed five (5) days.

c. A maximum of 10 days can be requested for maternity/paternity/adoption leave. Sick leave bank days cannot be requested if an administrator has already been absent 30 contract days for maternity leave or if six weeks has already lapsed between the arrival of the child and the first administrator contract day. However, if an employee has been put on medical ordered bed rest or incurs any medical complications, including a cesarean section, during pregnancy or afterwards to the mother or child, then said staff member is eligible to request additional time from the sick leave bank.

d. Requests shall be for a minimum of five (5) days. Unused days shall be returned to the bank at the end of the school year.

4. Applications for sick leave assistance shall be accompanied by a physician’s statement unless waived by the committee.

5. Applications for sick leave assistance shall be submitted in writing to the superintendent. The superintendent will discuss the request with the committee for a decision to be rendered.

6. Sick leave assistance committee shall consist of the two-member school board personnel committee.

7. Days in the sick leave bank shall be withdrawn on a first-come, first-served basis. If the total days in the bank are exhausted in any year, use of the bank ends for that year.

8. Unused days in the plan shall be carried over to the next school year.

9. Administration of the sick leave bank will be handled by the business office.

2.08 Advanced Study Reimbursement Policy

1. Reimbursement rate will be 90% of the cost of on-campus tuition or 80% of on-line tuition per semester hour of credit (based on state institutional cost). The maximum dollar amount any administrator may receive from the district under this program is $2,000 per year. Tuition reduction shall be utilized when available and the district will pay the difference up to the 90%.

2. Stipends will be given on a first come basis.

3. The district will allocate $15,000 per fiscal year towards this program.

4. Classes must be graduate level only and must be toward an approved masters degree or beyond. The administrator

must provide written documentation of the approved graduate program.

5. Applicants must have been employed one (1) year in the Sioux Valley School District 5-5 to be eligible. Administrators will be required to pay back 50% of any funds received if they voluntarily leave the district prior to three subsequent contract years from the contract year in which the funds were received.

6. Requests for reimbursement shall be submitted on a form provided by the Business Office.

7. Tuition reduction forms are available in the Business Office.