Sponsor Sen. Jimmy Higdon says Senate Bill 4 will help secure teacher retirements in the future by changing sick leave pay going forward. (LRC Public Information)

FRANKFORT —?A few Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting against a measure that would change how Kentucky teachers are paid for accumulated sick leave when they retire, but the bill received enough votes to pass Wednesday.?

Some Republicans argued Senate Bill 4 was necessary to ensure the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) can continue to pay retired teachers in the future, while a few Democrats argued the changes would lead to more teachers using their sick time throughout the school year instead of losing it — which would mean school districts would need more substitute teachers.?

If enacted, the bill would limit payment for unused sick leave days gained after June 30, 2024, to no more than 10 days per school year. After July 1 of this year, all public school districts would annually report sick leave balances of eligible employees to the TRS. Currently, 30% of the value of these days is paid as compensation at retirement.?

Senate Bill 4 passed through the Senate with a vote of 24-12. Republican Sens. Jared Carpenter, Matthew Deneen, Stephen Meredith, Brandon Smith and Johnnie Turner voted with the seven Senate Democrats against the bill.?

Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer, of Georgetown, said the bill was “pro-teacher,” “pro-retired teachers” and future retirees as well as would bring solvency to TRS in the future.?

“If we don’t make this change sometime in the future, this General Assembly is going to have to come up with another half a billion dollars that’ll pay off more green box dollars to pay off this unfunded liability to help us get to solvency,” Thayer said, referring to a kind of? special appropriation.?

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, said on the floor that the legislation would not take away or eliminate educators’ sick days. He voiced concern about funding retirements in the future. Last year, TRS had a negative cash flow of $900 million, he said.?

“This is about looking down into the future and make sure that every single teacher that is working today, that when they retire … that check always shows up,” Higdon said.?

According to a Feb. 7 letter from TRS to the Legislative Research Commission, Senate Bill 4 would have a slight impact on savings as “almost all districts currently provide no more than ten (10) sick leave for teachers (administrators on year contracts receive a few extra days).”

“There would be no material impact (on) the actuarial liability of the system,” the letter said. “The approximate current cost of sick leave for retirement calculation purposes is approximately 1.24% of payroll or around $52 million per year. A small portion of this cost reflects the application of sick leave as service credit, which is paid by employers rather than the state.”?

Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Reggie Thomas, of Lexington, said implementing the bill could lead to a greater need for substitute teachers across the state. He said teachers should be able to continue using this benefit that they earned over time — an issue raised by educators during last week’s Senate State and Local Government Committee.?

Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, said suggesting the bill “in some way is a dagger is one of the more ludicrous things that we’ve heard this session.” He added the bill would not affect the average rank-and-file teachers, but administrators who may have more sick time.?

“Sick days were always designed to be for when folks were sick,” McDaniel said.?

Additionally, Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, said one of her bills, Senate Bill 205, would complement Higdon’s as it would allow school district employees to have 20 maternity leave days. That bill, which she filed Tuesday, had not been assigned to a committee as of Wednesday.?

Jessica Hiler, president of the Fayette County Education Association and a kindergarten teacher, said during the committee hearing last week she used her sick leave early on in her career as maternity leave or to care for her children, which is common practice for Kentucky teachers.?

“As our kids get older, we can start rebuilding our leave time as we prepare for retirement,” she said. “Knowing that those leave days have value at the end of our career is an incentive to keep them instead of using them — which keeps our talented and experienced educators in the classroom every day with our kids.”?