This speech discusses the legality of school committee severance and salary adjustment payments based on accumulated and unused sick leave to retired teachers in the last year of service. The types of contract provisions discussed usually invoke a formula by which a certain number of accumulated, unused sick leave days are multiplied by a per diem rate to determine a lump sum allocated on retirement. The author cites and analyzes several labor cases that support the legality of severance pay and suggests that several aspects of severance pay provisions be drafted with care. (JF)