Professional Growth College Credit. A bargaining unit member may be reimbursed for professional growth graduate college credit. Tuition Reimbursement shall be included in the approved appropriations of the board. The annual tuition reimbursement fund shall be as follows:
Professional Growth College Credit. Each unit member who earns additional professional growth college credit will be eligible for reimbursement providing that all provisions of this article are met. An annual cap of dollars appropriated for professional growth shall be $120,500 per fiscal year during the term of this contract. During the term of this agreement a total of $1,000 of the professional growth funds will be appropriated for the training of the Local Professional Development Committee ("L.P.D.C."). The L.P.D.C. must submit a request for funds ("L.P.D.C. Funds"). The funds requested shall be granted provided that at the time of the request sufficient funds remain in the professional growth fund. L.P.D.C. funds may be requested only once in any school year. Any request, which is granted, will be reduced from the total allocation of L.P.D.C. funds and will lapse if not spent during the fiscal year the request is granted. In the event that the Board believes that a reduction in force may be necessary due to financial reasons, the parties agree to meet for the purpose of discussing the possible reduction or elimination of the professional growth expenditures that would otherwise be required by this agreement. In the event that the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the procedures pursuant to Article 46 shall be followed for resolution.
