Common use of Attendance at Professional Meetings Clause in Contracts

Attendance at Professional Meetings. A sum of $8,000 will be set aside for teacher inservice travel to School Board approved conferences, workshops, seminars or other professional meetings. Teacher requests to attend inservice meetings shall be submitted to the building principal for his approval and then forwarded to the appropriate district administrator for final approval. The number of teachers permitted to attend such conferences annually shall depend upon the needs of the School District and upon the availability of funds set aside as identified above. Should the funds not be sufficient to cover all requests, the selection shall be made based upon the needs of the Board and the Okeechobee service seniority of the individual teachers. Should a teacher be denied such request, he/she shall be given the reasons for denial of said request. Except in extraordinary circumstances as determined by the appropriate district administrator, a teacher shall not be eligible to attend meetings in consecutive years if the number of requests exceeds the amount of funds available. Should the funds not be sufficient to cover all requests, and the teacher states in writing he/she is willing to meet all expenses involved in attending the requested conference, the request will be considered for approval as professional leave in lieu of using sick or personal leave. This request would be presented to the principal or immediate supervisor for consideration. If the request is not approved, a reason will be listed on the application for leave.