A. Members of the system who are granted a sabbatical leave with pay by their employer shall have all of the rights and privileges pertaining to their membership in the retirement system as if they had remained in active service. Sabbatical leave shall count as active service for purposes of retirement and employee and employer contributions to the retirement system shall be continued.
B. However, a member shall not be allowed credit in the retirement system for more than one-half year of sabbatical leave for every three years of creditable service in the retirement system.