Pros
You can buy disability insurance to help you with the gap.
Cons
The district did not give correct information. Unfortunately, this district treats loyal employees as cogs in a machine. This post is in response to a mat leave query. I was asked to grade papers, come to back to school night and communicate with parents during my maternity leave. I took 8 weeks leave and although I had been assured by the person in charge that the deductions in my pay would be spread throughout the rest of the year, I returned to work with no paycheck for my first month. The person in charge in a follow-up said that after the six weeks, they just deduct the time you are missing wholesale. When I was asking for the details before my leave, he assured me this was not the way it worked. Imagine returning to work with a newborn (having worked at home for 8 weeks, and made trips into the school to deliver graded papers) working for a month in the school, and then not getting a paycheck. Do not have conversations by phone. You will need written confirmation of all communication.