Section 1 - Eligibility. The District may permit unit members to reduce their work load from full-time to half-time and have their retirement benefits based on full-time employment. To qualify for this program, the unit member shall meet the following prerequisites:

A. Ten years of prior full-time service, including the five (5) years immediately preceding, in a position requiring certification in the District.

B. Attained the age of 55 prior to the beginning of the school year in which the reduction in service begins. It shall be the unit member's responsibility to initiate the request for reduced service.

Section 2 - Application Deadline. A written agreement for reduced service shall be executed by the unit member and the District by May 1 prior to the period of reduced service. The agreement can be revoked or modified only with the mutual consent of the unit member and the District.

Section 3 - Work Load. Reduced service shall be one-half of the number of days of service required by the unit member's contract of employment during his/her final year of service in a full-time position. Reduced service may be on a half-time daily schedule or full-time for at least one-half year.

Section 4 - Duration. Agreements or contracts for part-time service are limited to a period not to exceed five (5) years, and no unit member shall participate after attaining the age of 65. Any unit member in the program who reaches age 65 during the school year may continue his/her reduced service for the balance of that year.

Section 5 - Retirement Contributions and Credit. The unit member and the District agree to submit contributions to the State Teachers Retirement System based on the compensation which would be earned for full-time employment. Full retirement credit is not earned until the end of the full school year. Participants who terminate prior to these concluding periods shall receive retirement credit based on the salary actually paid in the proportion that it related to the annual salary which would have been paid had the employment continued.

Section 6 - Salary, Rights, Benefits. The unit member shall be paid a salary which is one-half of the salary he/she would earn had he/she not elected to exercise the option of part-time employment. He/she shall retain all other rights and benefits for which he/she or the District makes the payments, including those as provided in Section 53201 of the Government Code, that would be required if he/she remained in full-time employment. All rights mandated by law and additional benefits which may be granted by the District to its unit member shall be applicable to any and all such unit members who are on contract for reduced service.