The five employees were on paid administrative leave for various periods of time, collecting salaries for days, sometimes months, and were told only to sit at home and not come to work. Gilroy Unified School District staff and officials said placing employees who are under investigation on paid leave is a "frustrating" and "painful" practice that diverts dollars from the classroom. However, the consequences of not doing so "could be a lot more harmful," Superintendent Deborah Flores said.

The periods and reasons employees were on leave varied, Flores said.

The district spent $700 over three days on Alberto Vicuna, a Gilroy High School math teacher who was arrested in February and eventually pleaded no contest to four counts of sex crimes with a minor.

In contrast, the district has spent $61,000 over seven months on Jan Dietzgen, a GHS English teacher who left the classroom in October after being accused of slapping or pushing three students. The Santa Clara County District Attorney did not file charges against Dietzgen because of a lack of evidence.

Yet, Dietzgen is still on paid leave, pending the recommendation of an administrative panel who heard her case in May, according to Kim Filice, the district's director of human resources.

For some cases, the question that baffles most people is "Why is this taking so long?" said Michelle Nelson, Gilroy Teachers Association president.

"We all want a resolution," she said. "This puts everyone in a bind, including the teacher. No teacher I've ever talked to wants to stay home and twiddle their thumbs."

Unlike school districts in large cities like New York and Los Angeles, Gilroy doesn't temporarily house its employees in "rubber rooms" - a nickname given to off-campus sites where teachers on administrative leave wait for a resolution - Nelson said. But they can't go back to the classroom or office until their cases are resolved, Nelson said.

And just because a teacher is still receiving her regular wages doesn't soften the blow of being removed from the classroom, Nelson said.

"They don't go to the Bahamas and take a vacation," she said. "It's very stressful for everyone."

In her 24 years as a human resources professional, Sue Murphy, manager of the National Human Resources Association, said the longest she's seen someone out on paid administrative leave in the private sector was six weeks - and those were serious cases.

"If they can't conduct their investigation in less time than that - seven months - maybe they need someone else to do it," she said.

As the district pays $140 per day for substitute teachers, the cost to cover classes normally taught by teachers on paid leave could amount to about $25,000.

Although Dietzgen's removal from the classroom is currently the longest running administrative leave in the last two years, former Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Michael Lyons reached a settlement with the school district in January 2008 entitling him to about $130,000 in wages and benefits over a 10-month period. Lyon's settlement followed The Dispatch's reporting that he faced three discrimination and harassment lawsuits from employees at his former school district.

However, Flores said it would not be fair to lump him in the same category as the other five because he was on paid medical leave. The district would not say from what medical ailment he suffered.

The district recently reached a settlement with Keiko Mizuno, the district's former director of fiscal services, placing her on paid administrative leave through Tuesday, when she will resign. She was placed on leave due to various mistakes at work, officials said.

If an investigation finds no wrong doing, an employee is removed from paid administrative leave and goes back to work, Flores said. Karen Spaulding, who was placed on paid administrative leave in January 2008 for about five months, is currently a physical education teacher at Ascencion Solorsano Middle School. The year she was placed on leave, she was a district administrator, but Flores would not offer an explanation as to the move.

Trustees said placing employees on administrative leave or reaching a settlement is sometimes the most cost effective way to move forward.

"It's not about what's right and wrong," said trustee Mark Good. "I look at dollars and cents."

Because of contractual obligations, the district cannot fire an employee without cause, and "ridiculous" laws slow the whole process, Good said.

"The district is handcuffed and has a gun pointed to its head," he said, adding that he's never seen anything comparable in the private sector.

Trustee Francisco Dominguez agreed.

"It's very frustrating from the standpoint of a trustee or taxpayer that we have to spend money on this and then it takes a long time to get to the bottom of something," Dominguez said. "But we're obligated as a public entity to follow due process."

Like Nelson, trustees wished the process was quicker.

"Sometimes these proceedings can take a long time," trustee Rhoda Bress said. "But whenever a decision like this is made, it's not done lightly. It's done to protect the district and make sure we don't get into a situation we'll regret later on."

Flores and trustees were careful to emphasize how few employees the district has placed on paid administrative leave.

The district spent about $70 million on its 1,000 employees' wages and benefits this fiscal year, according to district documents, and of those employees, only five were placed on paid administrative leave.

Although Flores wouldn't comment on specific cases, she said placing an employee on administrative leave is one of the most serious actions she takes as a superintendent.

"It's something that's very painful because it affects people's lives and families," Flores said. "I'm going to be very careful about that."