Staff Report

Employees in the Bell County School District will have a new attendance policy in place this year.

The policy was created to make sure all employees are treated fairly and consistently at all schools within the district. The policy will go into effect on Dec. 1 for the entire district.

“You had some schools that if an employee missed two or three hours the principal would cover for them, then another employee at a different school could miss the same amount of time and they were cut a half day,” said Bell County Superintendent Yvonne Gilliam.

The new attendance procedure is for all personnel on a salary, on an eight or seven hour contract. If an employee is not physically present at a work site they are considered absent.

An employee is considered tardy if they are absent 30 minutes to two hours anytime during the school or work day — morning, mid-day or afternoon. Four tardies will count as one full day absent, according to the policy.

An employee will be counted as absent one-half day if they are absent anytime during the instructional day for a period of two to five hours. An individual will be considered absent for a full day if they are absent from the work site for more than five hours, according to the policy.

It was also stated all employees have three personal days and 10 sick-leave days each year. Those days accumulate if they are not used.