Baltimore Schools Pay $65 Million For Unused PTO Over Five Years

The Baltimore Sun (3/15, Green) reports, "The Baltimore school system has paid its employees about $65 million for unused leave over the past five years, a rare perk that many employers have abandoned and that has come under fire as school districts have experienced shrinking budgets." This includes "about $22 million on annual cash-outs of unused sick leave accrued by current employees" and some "$43 million in accrued vacation, sick and personal leave when they have resigned or retired." The piece notes that Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently "told a Chicago newspaper that 'people should take a hard look at whether or not that policy makes sense ... in these tight budget times,' after it was discovered that he had received a $50,000 payout for unused vacation when he left the superintendent's job in Chicago."