By Beacon Staff
Non-certified staff in the Burlington School District will now receive bonuses if they stay at the school through October.
The Burlington School Board voted 5-1 during the May 9 school board to pay the non-certified staff the bonuses, which will be equivalent to an average of three days' pay for that particular job. The staff must have started at the district by Oct. 1 of last year to qualify.
The move by the school board comes after Gov. Kim Reynolds approved a plan to pay retention bonuses to teachers earlier this year. On March 28, the school board voted to provide a $1,000 retention bonus to 40 certified school district staff members who weren’t covered by the $1,000 bonuses offered by Reynolds. Just over 250 teachers received bonuses, including the 40 who weren't covered by the governor's plan.
Those teacher bonuses, which have already been awarded, cost the school district roughly $43,000, with the money coming from the school’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund.
The bonuses for non-certified staff will cost the district about $135,000 and will be paid using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. All non-certified district employees who meet the requirement will receive the bonuses, except for substitute teachers.
About 345 non-certified staff will receive the bonuses.