News Photo by Crystal Nelson Two buses parked outside of Lincoln Elementary School wait for school to let out on Thursday.

ALPENA — Alpena Public Schools employees will continue to receive COVID-19-related sick leave after district administrators reversed course on a previous recommendation.

The APS Board of Education voted to continue the COVID-19 sick leave for employees on Monday.

Federal coronavirus relief measures initially mandated employers to provide paid sick leave for absences related to the virus. When that mandate expired at the end of the year, Congress allowed employers to continue the sick leave through March 31, but employers would have to pay for the leave themselves.

Continuing the COVID-19-related leave means employees will have 80 paid hours — or 10 work days — they can use if they become infected, are forced to quarantine, or have to care for a relative who is infected or quarantining because of the virus.

That benefit is in addition to employees’ regular paid time off.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Joe Collins, director of transportation for Dean Transportation, prepares to leave Lincoln Elementary School on Thursday.

Superintendent Dave Rabbideau said district officials were initially acting on the guidance from their attorneys at Thrun Law Firm, but changed their mind after further research.

“We received feedback from our staff members — the ones these policies impact — and there was certain concern about canceling and not extending that leave,” he said.

Rabbideau said district officials found COVID-19-related absences for 60 employees cost about $54,000 between July 1 and Dec. 31.

Although district officials did not have an estimate on how much continuing the COVID-19 leave would cost, Rabbideau said the financial obligation for the district moving forward is manageable.

“More importantly, we understand the message it sends to our community and to our staff,” he said. “There’s a lot of anxiety around the virus that remains, and we need to do what we can to take care of our employees and show them that we value them and the work that they do.”

APS employs about 500 people.

“I appreciate the commitment the board made to all APS employees,” Tom Stoppa, president of the Alpena Education Association, the district’s teachers union, said.

Trustee Eric Lawson asked if there was any communication or letter of agreement with the unions. Lawson expressed concern the COVID-19-related sick leave is a bargaining issue, and that failure to bargain with the unions would constitute unfair labor practices.

Matt Poli, the district’s executive director of human resources and employee relations, said he met with all unions and union leaders favor continuing the leave. He said district officials had verbal agreements with the unions and letters of agreement would be drafted after board approval.