§ 6-17-1604 - High-need school salary bonus and hold-back longevity bonus.
6-17-1604. High-need school salary bonus and hold-back longevity bonus.
(a) The Department of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations for an additional high-need school salary bonus, including a hold-back longevity bonus, for each principal receiving master school principal status and serving as a principal of a public school in phase two (2) or phase three (3) school-improvement status or located in a school district in academic distress.
(b) (1) The department shall pay a high-need school salary bonus of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for every school year for no more than five (5) years to any building-level principal who:
(A) Receives a master school principal designation from the Arkansas Leadership Academy; and
(B) Is, at the time of receiving the bonus of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), employed full time as a building-level principal in an Arkansas public school district that is or was:
(i) A public school in phase two (2) or phase three (3) school-improvement status at the time that the master school principal began his or her employment as a master school principal of the school; or
(ii) A public school located in a school district in academic distress at the time that the master school principal began his or her employment as a master school principal of the school.
(2) The high-need school salary bonus under subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall be paid as follows:
(A) Twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for each school year; and
(B) An additional five thousand dollars ($5,000) to be set aside for each qualifying school year to be paid as follows:
(i) A hold-back longevity bonus of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) at the end of three (3) consecutive school years as a master school principal in the same school; and
(ii) A hold-back longevity bonus of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) at the end of five (5) consecutive school years as a master school principal in the same school.
(3) The high-need school salary bonus with the hold-back longevity bonus payable under this section shall be paid in addition to the five-year incentive bonus allowed under 6-17-1603, if the master principal is within the time frame for eligibility for the five-year incentive bonus.
(c) No person shall receive either a yearly incentive bonus, a salary bonus, or a longevity bonus, regardless of the person's past participation in the Master School Principal Program, if the person leaves the full-time employment as a principal of an Arkansas public school district.