MCSD employees were furloughed during COVID. They could get those wages back — plus a bonus
Federal funding will allow Muscogee County School District employees to receive thousands of dollars in restored furlough days and retention bonuses if the school board approves the superintendent’s recommendations.
No board member spoke against the plan from MCSD Superintendent David Lewis during the board’s monthly work session Monday night. The board is scheduled to vote on the proposals during its April 19 meeting.
MCSD would use money from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to compensate employees who lost wages due to the furlough days. State budget cuts last year prompted the board in September to approve Lewis’ recommendation of the furlough days to help cover a $16.7 million shortfall in its $284 million general fund.
The furloughs were based on the number of days MCSD employees work during the fiscal year:
- No furlough days for employees who work less than 190 days.
- Five furlough days for employees who work 190-195 days.
- Six furlough days for employees who work 200-220 days.
- Seven furlough days for employees who work 240-249 days.
- Nine furlough days for the superintendent.
That amounted to a pay cut of 3% to 3.5% for the average salary, Lewis said then.
The exact cost of restoring the furloughs wasn’t available before this story’s publication, but previously published figures provide an estimate.
An analysis of MCSD salaries the Ledger-Enquirer published in February shows the average is $44,373 (and the median is $43,513), so the furloughs amounted to a loss of $1,331 to $1,553 in the district’s average salary. Multiply that by the number of employees, 5,175, and MCSD would need approximately $6.9 million to $8 million in federal funding to pay back the lost wages.
As a sign of solidarity with employees, board members decided in September to have their own $12,000 annual salary reduced by 10% for the 2020-21 school year. Board chairwoman Pat Hugley Green of District 1 told the L-E Tuesday that board members won’t have their lost wages restored.
Cathy Williams, the nine-member board’s finance committee chairwoman and District 7 representative, said during Monday’s work session she was “thrilled” to read Lewis’ recommendation. She called it “recognition and appreciation for the amazing work that our people do — every day — but what they’ve done in the last year is nothing short of heroic.”
District 5 representative Laurie McRae, the finance committee’s previous chairwoman, voted against the budget in September after urging the administration to do “more tightening of the belt before we furlough our staff.” Monday, she praised the leadership’s decision to “really make our employees whole.”
“I’ve been hoping for this ever since the furlough decision was made,” she said during the work session.
If the board approves another proposal from Lewis, qualified full-time employees would receive a one-time bonus of $1,000 and part-time employees would receive $490 from the state’s share of federal stimulus funding.
The Georgia Board of Education last month approved the recommendation from Gov. Brian Kemp and state superintendent Richard Woods “to support stronger recruitment and retention of these critical positions as a gesture of gratitude for their work and sacrifices during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the Georgia Department of Education’s news release.
Employees excluded from the bonuses are:
- Third-party contractors
- Community coaches
- Day-to-day substitutes
- Superintendent
- Board members.
GaDOE’s chart shows MCSD’s retention bonuses will amount to $4.3 million in funding for salaries and benefits from the CARES Act.
MCSD intends to pay the furlough restoration and retention bonuses this month, Lewis told the board. He noted the bonuses are taxable and don’t qualify for retirement system contributions.
