The loss of one word from the official Richmond Public Schools calendar apparently will cost the city’s school system up to $1 million in extra vacation pay.

The word: Designated.

Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras detailed the expensive error in responding to a Free Press query about seven extra vacation days awarded to 659 RPS employees with 12-month contracts, including principals and central office staff.

The Free Press reported on the snafu last week.

Mr. Kamras explained on March 21, after the Free Press reported on the snafu, why he had awarded the extra vacation days to employees, including himself. (Teachers generally have 9½-month contracts.)

“Unfortunately, the calendar that the School Board approved for 2018-19 had an omission — the word designated,” Mr. Kamras said.

For example, the calendar published on the RPS website listed nine days for winter break — from Dec. 21 through Jan. 2 — “for staff and students,” instead of “designated staff (teachers) and students.”

“Because that word (designated) wasn’t there, the implication was that the division is/was closed, and so I notified staff accordingly. This decision was confirmed by the School Board attorney,” Mr. Kamras stated.

He added that the mistake would not be repeated.

“The proposed 2019-20 calendar clearly outlines the days off for 12-month employees versus other staff.”

Mr. Kamras did not mention whether the actual contracts that 12-month employees signed offered specifics on the number of vacation days they were to receive, which would have trumped the calendar’s inaccuracy. He also did not seek School Board approval for his decision, several board members said.

His award of more holiday time to employees is drawing fire from 2nd District City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, a former School Board member. She said Monday that the contracts for 12-month employees include information on their approved holidays. She said the costly snafu should and could have been avoided had the superintendent relied on the language in the 12-month contract.

In response, Mr. Kamras stated Tuesday, “We felt it was proper — if not required — to follow the language of the calendar that the School Board adopted last year. In addition, on a human level, we felt it was important to honor the spring break plans that 12-month employees had made with their families given the language of the calendar.”

The School Board, however, had budgeted for just 11 vacation days for 12-month employees, and the addition of the seven extra vacation days is projected to cost $144,000 a day, or a total of about $1 million.

In his March 10 RPS Direct blog, Mr. Kamras made it official that 12-month employees were getting extra days off. He announced that the employees would receive vacation pay during the upcoming spring break, which is to run from Monday, April 1, through Friday, April 5.

The School Board had approved 12-month employees being off only on Friday, April 5, largely because staff members use the break to work on a host of matters that are better dealt with when schools are quiet, including creation of the master schedule for the next school year.

Along with granting four extra days off for 12-month employees during the spring break, Mr. Kamras also announced that employees who used personal leave to take off on Dec. 20 and 21 and Jan. 2 would have that leave restored, meaning the school system would cover the cost of those days rather than charging it to the employees.

However, government officials said the school system would either have to pay overtime or give days off to the 12-month employees who worked those days, adding to the total cost.

Twelve-month employees were supposed to receive vacation pay only for Dec. 24 and 25 and Jan. 1.