An unofficial school district policy that limits teachers to two days of paid leave and five days of unpaid leave could put a stop to Craig Conrad’s “Unstoppable You” program.

Conrad, the Moffat County High School wood shop teacher, attended Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting to request the district increase the number of unpaid days it offers teachers or follow the existing policy, which has no provision for unpaid time. In place now is a guideline, which is the product of a decision made in 1997 by the district’s administrators to limit unpaid leave to five days.

Conrad only learned of that limitation recently when he requested several days off in April to present his “Unstoppable You” program to two other school districts. He was offended when notified by e-mail that the unofficial policy was in place.

“Initially I thought, is this the way you treat an employee who has worked for the district for 23 years and in 23 years has taken fewer sick days that I can count on one hand? Is this the way you treat an employee who took a program that was one year away from cancellation and made it one of the best in the world? Is this the way you treat an employee who took a program that was thousands of dollars in the hole and made flush?” Conrad asked. “What I’d like to do is work with the school board and the administration to find a solution.”

Superintendent of Schools Pete Bergmann said he had several concerns about Conrad’s request: whether it would be opening the door to districtwide requests for extra time away to pursue other opportunities and whether the quality of education would suffer in Conrad’s absence.

Conrad said simple economics would prevent a flood of employees from taking excessive unpaid time off. An unpaid day means about $275 deducted from the paycheck of a teacher with a high-end salary, he said.

“I don’t foresee you having a problem with other teachers asking to do this because essentially you’d be asking them to take a pay cut,” Conrad said.

As far as educational quality, Conrad said he would know in advance what days he would be gone and be able to prepare students and a substitute teacher.

He asked that the school board consider giving him two or three unpaid days off a month.

“Unstoppable You” is a motivational program created by Conrad that has been featured on 9News and CBS’s “The Early Show.” Conrad uses former students as examples of what could happen when students become “stoppable” — when they use drugs or alcohol. Both of Conrad’s examples live in a state prison for causing the death — or deaths — of someone else because they were drinking.

School board members were torn between wanting to give Conrad the opportunity to present his program and opening the floodgates to similar requests.

“What you’re asking is not unreasonable, it’s just how do we do it without opening that door?” board member Trish Snyder asked.

Board member Gary Ellgen suggested the district’s leave and vacation policy be amended to give teachers the opportunity to exchange paid time off — such as sick or bereavement days — for unpaid personal days.

The policy is one administrators must negotiate with the teachers union. Bergmann was unwilling to consider changes without consulting them.

He wasn’t alone.

“There are a lot of other teachers out there who deserve some consideration too, and we need to consult them before making a policy change,” board member JoAnn Baxter said.

Bergmann also cautioned the school board against making a decision that would cater only to Conrad’s need and not take into account that decisions effect on the district.

“Your job is to create policy for the benefit of the school district,” he told board members. “Don’t make a Craig Conrad decision tonight, make a policy decision only after careful consideration.”

Bergmann will work with board members Gary Ellgen and Steve Hafey to draft a formal policy, which will be submitted to the board at its March 24 meeting. Ellgen and Hafey said they supported finding an alternative that would allow Conrad to share his program with other districts.

“He’s got something special, and I think other people should see it, and I think we’re lucky to have it,” Hafey said. “Mr. Conrad has demonstrated a gift, and I feel Moffat County should be willing to share it.”