SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In South Dakota, the state has been allowing public schools to use tax dollars normally reserved for construction and maintenance for general operation purposes, according to media reports.

It’s a way to help the schools survive the lingering effects of the recession without making big cuts in student services.

Now some state legislators are suggesting it’s time to ease the schools off that dependency, and get them back in the habit of living within their general fund operating budgets.

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That will be easier for schools to do if they take a close look at labor costs and make some common sense adjustments, starting with paid leave policies.

Those polices not only force districts to spend too much on absent teachers, compensation for teachers who do not use sick days, and substitutes, but also hurt the quality of instruction for students. Numerous studies have strongly suggested that students learn very little when their regular teachers are missing.

The teachers union contract in Sioux Falls, S.D. gives teachers and other covered employees 12 paid sick days per year, as well as two personal days, for a nine-month work year. Only one sick day is counted as a personal day used.

The contract also grants teachers who are union officials a cumulative 45 days of paid leave per year to conduct union business. That number drops to 20 when the teacher who serves as union president is on paid full-time leave to do union business.

In 2013-14 Sioux Falls teachers and other employees took 20,892 paid days off. With 2,727 employees, that comes out to an average of 7.6 paid days off per employee.

The district paid out a total of $4.2 million in salary to absent employees and $1.5 million for substitute teachers.

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The union contract in the smaller Brandon Valley district gives teachers and other covered employees 13 days of paid sick leave per year, along with two sick days.

In 2013-14 Brandon Valley employees took 2,267 sick days and 515 personal days. That comes out to seven paid sick days per employee.

The district paid out $530,598 in salary to absent employees, $233,703 in substitute teacher fees and $43,250 to employees as compensation for unused sick days.

It doesn’t have to be like this. Since 2011 Wisconsin school boards have been given the power to determine personnel rules without having to negotiate with local teachers unions.

The Hamilton school district used that law to cut its paid days off policy (12 sick days, three personal days) to a combined seven days.

Between 2011-12 and 2013-14, the number of annual teacher absences dropped by 1,653 and the cost of substitutes dropped by $132,975.

The Elmbrook, Wisconsin district cut paid days off down from 12-15 per year to seven in 2012-13, saving roughly $230,000 per year in substitute costs.