Annual Leave Memo for Principals and District 75 Assistant Principals

2024-2025 Annual Leave Procedures for All Principals and any 12-Month Assistant Principals Assigned to District 75 Citywide Programs

• Note: In addition to Principals, the following memorandum now also covers 12-Month Assistant Principals assigned to District 75 citywide programs.
• The vacation year for Principals and District 75 Assistant Principals commences September 1 and ends August 31.
• Principals and District 75 Assistant Principals accrue up to 27 annual leave days per vacation year. The annual leave will be accrued at the rate of two and one quarter days per month and will be credited on the 16th day of each month while in active status.
• Personal business and religious observance days must be charged to annual leave.  These days may not be charged to Cumulative Absence Reserves (CAR). All CSA members are now allowed to use up to 3 CAR days, per work year, to care for a sick family member.
• All workdays, including the summer, are seven (7) hours and fifteen (15) minutes exclusive of a duty free lunch.  Annual leave may be taken in whole days or partial increments. Principals shall continue to devote the necessary time and effort to fulfill their professional obligations as they have in the past.
• Annual leave is automatically charged for school closings during winter recess and mid-winter recess, unless an exception has been granted to work during these periods.  Exceptions must be approved, in advance, by the appropriate Superintendent, for Principals; or approved by the Principal, for District 75 Assistant Principals. If approved to work during these school recess periods, their vacation bank will not be charged and s/he will be entitled to take those days at a later date but no later than August 31^st of that school year.
• The collective bargaining agreement allows principals to request permission from their superintendent to work on all school holidays (inclusive of Federal and State holidays) when school is not in session.  If the Superintendent approves a principal can defer an annual leave day or, in the case of a principal approved to work on a paid holiday, or earn a floating holiday, to be used at another time during the work year, with permission from the Superintendent. In no event do any deferred annual leave days or floating holidays carry over past August 31 of the work year. The same applies to District 75 Assistant Principals, if approved by their Principal.
  
• School closings for the 2024-2025 school year are as follows:
  • Winter recess – Dec 23, 26, 27, and 30 (Dec 24, 25, 31, and Jan 1 are paid holidays)
  • Midwinter recess – Feb 18, 19, and 20 (Feb 17 and 21 are paid holidays)
  • Spring recess – Apr 15, 16, and 17 (Apr 14 and 18 are paid holidays)

(The above applies to 12-month APs as well; however, they must secure approval from the supervising Principal prior to commencing per session work during the school recesses. Non-annualized AP’s are directed to Chancellor’s Regulation C-175 for their rights and responsibilities regarding per session work.) 

Outside of the Winter and Mid-Winter Breaks, should a Principal or 12-month Assistant Principal wish to work per session on the same day they are using annual leave, such per session is subject to the approval of the appropriate Superintendent, and all such per session work must be authorized by the Superintendent prior to the performance of such work.

• For Principals, annual leave requests must be arranged mutually with the Superintendent. Superintendents shall review annual leave requests and notify Principals in writing of their determination within ten (10) school days of receiving the request.
• For District 75 Assistant Principals, annual leave requests must be arranged mutually with the Principal. Principals should review annual leave requests and notify Assistant Principals in writing of their determination within ten (10) school days of receiving the request.
• Annual leave should not be charged for central headquarters closings listed in the 2024-2025 Central Calendar, e.g., Labor Day, Columbus Day, etc.

Annual leave cannot be carried over from one year to the next except as specified below:

• Principals may carry up to four (4) days annual leave earned during the 1999-2000 school year for future use.
• Principals and current 12 month Assistant Principals who reported to work during the period February 20-22, 2013 are permitted to carry over up to three (3) annual leave days (corresponding to the number of days they reported to work) for future use past August 31, 2013. For more details, consult 2013 Personnel Memorandum #5, dated December 18, 2012, regarding the impact of Hurricane Sandy.
• Pursuant to State and Department directives, the NYCDOE continued to offer remote learning during the period which was originally scheduled as Spring Recess, April 9-17, 2020, and therefore all schools offices continued in full operation. Principals and 12-Month Assistant Principals who worked during this period may be eligible for Special Annual Leave Days, and 10-month school-based Assistant Principals may be eligible for Vacation Days. All Special Annual Leave Days and Vacation Days will be held in a separate dedicated bank and do not expire.
• Due to the addition of December 23, 2024 to the winter recess, current 12-month Assistant Principals received one (1) extra annual leave day for the 2024-2025 work year. If unused by District 75 Assistant Principals, this day may be rolled over to the 2025-2026 work year to be used no later than August 31, 2026.

These are the only annual leave days that may be carried over from one vacation year to another and once used may not be replenished.