Muscogee County School District will pay two bonuses to employees. Here’s the plan
The Muscogee County School District will spend millions of dollars to pay all employees two sets of bonuses in an effort to help solve its shortage of teachers other other staff members.
Full-time employees as of Sept. 15 will receive $500. Then full-time employees as of Jan. 15, 2022, will receive $500. The pay schedule is the same for part-time employees, but the amount of each installment is $250.
In total, employees who were hired as of Sept. 15 and remain active employees at least through Jan. 15 will receive bonuses amounting to $1,000 if they are full-time or $500 if they are part-time.
The Ledger-Enquirer’s analysis of MCSD annual salaries last school year showed the average salary at $44,373.52 and the median salary at $43,513.
The district reported having 5,175 employees as of Sept. 10. MCSD communications director Alicia Lawrence told the L-E the bonuses, which district officials call stipends, are expected to cost approximately $4.5 million.
MCSD will use money from the $13.2 billion federal Elementary and Second School Emergency Relief Fund to pay the stipends for employee recruitment and retention, Lawrence said.
“There is currently a nationwide teacher shortage,” she said. “In addition, like other sectors of the economy, the pandemic has further intensified a shortage of teachers and support staff alike. Therefore, the Board of Education unanimously approved the superintendent’s recommendation to provide this incentive to thank our current employees and also welcome our new hires.”
A breakdown of the number of vacancies for each type of position wasn’t available before deadline, but Lawrence said, “We are experiencing a high volume of shortages in District Support, much like districts across the country. Our School Nutrition Program and Transportation areas are seeing the highest need, but all areas are in need of staffing.”
In June, MCSD reported having received a total of $114 million in federal funding for COVID-19 recovery from March 2020 through March 2021.
MCSD’s budget for fiscal year 2022, which started July 1, comprises $475.5 million in total expenditures from all funds, including $283.9 million from the general fund.
