LYNN – Keeping with a policy that is already in place for municipal employees in Lynn and many surrounding areas, the School Committee voted Wednesday to provide pay for employees that are dispatched to active duty during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.The new policy will provide families of soldiers who hold jobs within the school department and are deployed to active duty with the difference between combat pay and their usual pay from the school department.Committee member Daniel Cahill and School Department Attorney John Mihos have been working diligently to hammer out the correct language for the policy, and brought it before the committee Wednesday for approval.When employees who serve in the armed forces are deployed to the Middle East, they are placed on administrative leave, but are not paid while they are at war. The paycheck these individuals receive from the military is much less than the salary of most public employees, thus creating a difficult situation for families forced to remain at home without an adequate source of income.”It creates a lot of economic hardship, because the military does not provide the same pay scale and, I feel, do not provide adequate compensation,” said Cahill. “It is used in Lynn to make up the difference for those families.”By providing families with the difference in pay, it is one less thing for them to struggle with during the difficult time that a loved one is at war.”The employees are on leave, but it is not a paid leave, so they won’t lose their seniority or position, but they are not paid,” Cahill said. “Now, the families will start getting that difference in pay in checks. It is not a lump sum, it will be in checks – so at least they are not taking that hit for being over there.”School Committee Secretary Thomas Iarrobino said it is too early to determine exactly how much the difference is in pay, because each individual is different both within the School Department and in the military.School Committee members did not hesitate to unanimously recommend the proposal to Superintendent Nicholas Kostan, who will review the official wording and sign off on the approval.It is unknown how often this proposal will be needed in the future. In order to qualify, employees must meet several areas of criteria, and must be deployed to active duty overseas. Employees who are members of the National Guard or other military branches that require periodic training and occasional travel do not qualify for the payment because they are only missing work briefly during this time.As of this date, only Tracy School teacher William Logue, who is fighting in Iraq with the 972nd Military Police, would be eligible.