KCA Policies for All Personnel
First Approved August 5, 2024;
Revisions presented to KCA Board March 30, 2026; Approved April 6, 2026.
Table of Contents
1 Employee Status and Qualifications
1.1 Employee Status
Regular full-time employees. An employee who regularly works 30 hours or more is considered by KCA to be a regular full-time employee. This includes both full-time non-exempt employees and full-time exempt employees such as Teacher Leaders.
Semester employees. An employee who works under 15 hours per week for a limited period is considered a semester employee. Temporary teachers with a limited classload and no student advisees, such as Community Teachers, are considered semester employees.
Intensive staff. Anyone who teaches only during one or more of KCA’s short-term intensives is considered a contractor for those 3 or 4 school days and is not eligible for benefits such as sick leave, paid time off, or holiday pay, and in order to get paid, must submit a W-9 prior to their first day of work.
All applicants who are offered a position for employment are subject to a full background check pursuant to ODE standards.
1.2 Performance Evaluations
Trial periods. All employees’ tenure will begin with a 90-day trial period beginning from their date of hire, including established employees who move into a new position. Completion of the trial period does not modify an employee’s at-will employment status.
At the end of the trial period, a committee of Teacher Leaders will review the employee’s job description and subsequent performance. Based on this review, the committee will determine whether extra training is needed or other adjustments, including but not limited to updates to the job description and dismissal, are appropriate. This review and resultant conclusions will be presented to employees at their 90-day evaluation meeting.
Annual performance evaluations. A performance evaluation shall be conducted annually near the anniversary of the date of hire for every employee of KCA. At this time, a committee of Teacher Leaders will review the employee’s job description and subsequent performance.
The purpose of the school’s evaluation program is to aid the employee in making continuing professional growth and to assess performance of current job duties, both as described and as taken up. Annual evaluations provide an opportunity for employees to set goals and objectives and receive responses to them; to have peer input and assistance to better meet the needs of students and colleagues as appropriate; to have formal and informal observations to assess and recognize the performance of duties and job responsibilities; to receive verbal and written comments and any suggestions for improvement from Teacher Leaders; and, if necessary, to have opportunities to make improvement within specific timelines.
Annual evaluations also provide a tool for Teacher Leaders, who are responsible for making decisions about promotion, demotion, discipline, and dismissal. Raises are not tied to evaluations. Pay raises for Teacher Leaders and Community Teachers are adjusted/revised each school year; all other hourly employees will have pay raises based on their anniversary date.
2 Scheduling and Pay
2.1 Scheduling
KCA follows Oregon state law 839-020-0050 for hours worked and corresponding breaks allowed. (See corresponding procedure for details.)
Professional responsibilities such as staff and board meetings and chaperoning of events and trips (for the employee coordinating the trip) will be compensated time, either within or in addition to an employee’s regular work hours.
2.2 Payroll
Payroll is by direct deposit only. Payday shall be the last business day of the month for all regular full-time and part-time employees. For hourly staff, the payroll period runs through the 25th of the month, unless an earlier date is needed by the payroll processor (such as in a short month like February). The HR manager will update all employees if the end date for payroll is earlier than the 25th of the month.
Contracted intensive teachers are paid a one-time payment on the last day of their intensive, for hours worked, but if a Community Teacher teaches or works during an Intensive, they will be paid with their regular payroll, on the last day of the month.
2.3 Pay Rates
Annual pay rates for staff will be approved by the school board dependent on the school budget for the year. Annual step increases for all staff is 3.4%. COLA adjustments are dependent on school budget and subject to board approval each year. The COLA rate will be set during the budget creation process for the following fiscal year, generally in February of March, for the fiscal year beginning July 1. For the 2026-27 school year, the COLA for non-Teacher Leader positions is 2%.
When determining pay rates for new positions, the HR manager will review pay rates for similar positions within Three Rivers School District. That is, KCA’s goal is for staff positions to receive a rate as close as possible to the going rate elsewhere in the school district. However, at the start of KCA, Teacher Leaders agreed to a lower pay rate to insure the school could meet its budget (i.e. in the first year, KCA Teacher Leaders made 86% of what first-year teachers in Three Rivers school district made). For this reason, Teacher Leaders may have a higher annual COLA than other staff, in order to bring them closer to what similar positions earn in the district. For the 2026-27 school year, the COLA for Teacher Leader positions is 4.034%.
Community Teachers. For the purposes of pay rates, Community Teachers shall be considered first-year Community Teachers for their first and second semesters of teaching; second-year for their third and fourth semesters of teaching; etc. Thus a Community Teacher who teaches one semester a year would receive the first year rate for their second semester of teaching even if it was within their second school year of teaching.
Community Teachers shall only be paid for class hours taught. They shall not be paid if school closes due to weather events such as snow days. They shall also not be paid when a scheduled school event (such as an all-school field trip) disrupts the regular schedule on a day in which a Community Teacher was scheduled to teach, causing class to not occur. Teachers may use paid time off to make up for the missed class.
Substitute Teachers. Because substitute teachers are expected to arrive early to review plans and prepare for class, and are also expected to stay later to write up any notes for the regular classroom teachers, substitutes are paid for 2 hours of work for each 100-minute class (100 minutes plus 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after). However, because long-term subs are expected to participate to a greater degree in grading and lesson planning, substitute teachers hired to fill a position for 2 weeks or more will be paid at the rate of Community Teachers. For 2026-27, the Substitute Teacher rate is $28/hour.
2.4 Offsite work
All KCA non-exempt employees will be paid their normal hourly rate for time spent traveling to and from an offsite location, as well as for hours worked at the location, provided they (a) have received approval in advance from the Teacher Leaders, and (b) they began their workday at the school. Mileage reimbursement is available on a case-by-case basis at the current federal rate and requires submission of relevant receipts. For current rates, visit www.gsa.gov/mileage.
During the first three years of the school (2023-2026), staff who work at least half-time are allotted a professional development budget which comes from grant funding. Each employee’s allotted amount may cover airfare, lodging, per diem, and conference fees; submission of relevant receipts is required for reimbursement. Per diem covers incidentals such as meals and transportation with a set budget per day, based on travel time per day. Standard meals and incidentals per diem is $59 for Oregon. For other states and cities, see www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates. The schedule is as follows:
Initial Day Travel Begins – Percent of Daily per diem to claim
Before 8:00am – 100%; 8:00am – Noon – 75%; 12:01pm-6pm – 50%; After 6pm – 25%
Final Day Travel Ends – Percent of Daily per diem to claim
Before 8:00am – 25%; 8:00am – Noon – 50%; 12:01pm-6pm – 75%; After 6pm – 100%
3 Time Off
3.1 Holidays
KCA recognizes the following holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- President’s Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- Labor Day
- Indigenous People’s Day
- Veteran’s Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
No employee shall be scheduled to work on a holiday. Regular full-time employees and part-time employees will be eligible to begin receiving paid time off for holidays beginning after their first day of work. They will receive pro-rated holiday benefits, meaning they will receive their hourly rate for the number of hours they are regularly scheduled to work on that day of the week.
Note: Beginning in 2026, KCA will not observe Independence Day, as the school will be closed every year for the month of July.
3.2 Sick Leave
Allowable uses for sick leave include caring for yourself or your family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or need for preventative medical care, or any other reason set forth in the Oregon Sick Time Law including injury, medical diagnosis, and preventative care. Additional allowable uses include bereavement; public health emergencies; and situations involving domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking. Covered family members include spouse, partner, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, and grandchild.
Non-Exempt Employees. Non-exempt employees, with the exception of Community Teachers, will begin accruing paid sick leave immediately upon their first day of work. However, eligible employees will only be permitted to begin using paid sick leave 30 calendar days from their first day of work.
The sick leave accrual rate is 1 hour earned per 30 hours worked. Sick leave will not accrue for vacation, holiday, or other unworked hours. The maximum allowed hours of sick leave accrued per employee’s year from their date of hire is 64 hours. The maximum allowed balance of sick hours at any given time is also 64 hours. Once the year is up, or an employee’s balance falls below the max, they will begin accruing sick leave again. Unused sick leave benefits accumulate from year to year, but the carryover limit is 40 hours. Employees are not paid for unused sick leave at the end of their employment.
Teacher Leaders. Each full-time Teacher Leader shall receive 10 days sick leave at their full pay rate. The annual 10 days sick leave shall be added to the teacher’s beginning total at the start of each academic year. Teachers who serve under contract for a fraction of the school year shall receive sick pay on a prorated basis (e.g. a 0.5 FTE teacher would receive 10 days at 0.5 of the full pay, or 5 full days). Sick leave not taken shall accumulate and may be used at a future time, but the carryover limit to the next school year is 40 hours.
Community Teachers. Each Community Teacher shall receive 5 hours sick leave at their full pay rate, per course they are teaching (e.g. a CT teaching 2 classes shall receive 10 hours). The sick leave shall be added to the teacher’s beginning total at the start of each semester. Sick leave not taken shall accumulate and may be used at a future time, but the carryover limit is 40 hours.
Teachers who were previously employed in an Oregon school district shall be allowed to transfer their accumulated sick leave; provided, however, the amount of leave transferable shall not exceed 75 days. Transfer of sick leave from another Oregon district shall not be effective until the teacher has completed 30 working days at the school.
Employees are not paid out sick leave at the end of employment.
3.3 Paid Time Off
Rest and relaxation away from work is important to prevent burnout. Accordingly, KCA employees are encouraged to schedule vacations each year, and to use all their paid time off.
Non-Exempt Employees. All non-exempt employees, including Community Teachers, will begin accruing paid time off immediately upon their first day of work. However, eligible employees will only be permitted to begin using paid time off 30 calendar days from their first day of work.
The paid time off accrual rate is 0.04 hours earned per 1.0 hours worked (or 1 hour per 25 hours worked) for the first two years of employment, per employee’s year from their date of hire. In the third and fourth years of employment, the rate will increase to 0.06 per 1.0 hours worked. In the fifth year, the rate will increase to its maximum of 0.08 per 1.0 hours worked. Paid time off will not accrue for vacation, holiday, or other unworked hours.
There is no maximum for the hours of paid time off accrued per year. There is also no maximum paid time off balance per year. Unused paid time off accrues from year to year, but the carryover limit is 60 hours. Employees are paid for unused paid time off at the end of their employment.
Teacher Leaders. Teacher Leaders shall be granted 4 days of personal leave per year (8 hours/day). Half-days may be used. These days may be used as desired (unrestricted), with the exception that personal leave may be taken at the beginning or end of a holiday break period only at the discretion of the full Teacher Leader staff. Time taken which does not interfere with instruction (such as Admin time), may be made up with comp or flex time rather than charged as Personal Leave.
Personal days are non-accumulative; they do not accrue from year to year. At the end of the school year, each employee shall be paid a bonus for up to 3 unused days, in addition to their regular salary. Unused personal day bonuses shall be paid with the June paycheck. End of year balances will be paid at the following rates:
- 3 or 4 Days = $300.00 2 Days = $200.00 1 Day = $100.00
4 Benefits
4.1 Medical, Vision, Dental, and Life Insurance
All regular full-time employees are eligible to receive insurance benefits, including medical, pharmaceutical, vision, dental, and life. Eligible employees will begin receiving insurance coverage the first of the month following their date of hire. Semester and intensive employees are not eligible for insurance benefits.
Employees can enroll in any combination of medical, dental, and vision plans, and KCA shall provide each employee with a copy of the schedule of benefits for the program in which the employee chooses to enroll.
Regardless of which plan an employee chooses, KCA will cover a premium cost equivalent to the median plan available. Employees who enroll in a combination of medical, dental, and vision plans that have a greater premium than the school’s contribution will have the difference deducted monthly through payroll deduction. Enrolling in a plan with a lower premium is also an option, although any remainder of an employee’s allotted premium stipend will be kept in the school funds.
To keep pace with inflation, KCA will scale up its contribution every year so that 100% of the median plans are always covered.
Effective October 1, 2024 KCA will contribute the following toward OEBB-selected benefit plans:
Employee only medical: $614.29 Employee only dental: $59.66 Employee only vision: $17.81
Effective October 1, 2025 KCA will contribute the following toward OEBB-selected benefit plans:
Employee only medical: $675.14 Employee and child medical: $1282.79
Employee only dental: $61.35 Employee and child dental: $135.13
Employee only vision: $17.81 Employee and child vision: $33.87
4.2 Retirement
All regular full-time employees will be eligible to receive PERS after a 6-month vesting period.
Retirement / PERS. Employees who work 600+ hours in a year are considered eligible. The school shall “pick-up” the six percent (6%) employee contribution required by PERS (Ch.238)/OPSRP (Ch.238(a)). The parties agree that employee compensation has not been reduced in order to generate the funds needed to make these employee contributions; the employer will file any required notices with the Public Employees Retirement Board.
The full amount of required employee contributions paid pursuant to the paragraph above, shall be considered as “salary” with respect to PERS/OPSRP for the purpose of computing an employee member’s “final average salary” and shall also be considered as “salary” for the purpose of determining the amount of employee contribution required to be contributed pursuant to state law.
Kalmiopsis Community Arts High School 