Knox school administrators and support staff are getting some extra money.
The school board recently approved stipends of $600 for 12-month employees, $500 for bus drivers and 10-month employees, and $300 for part-time staff.
“We’d love to give more, but in the times that we are in, I think we need to be conservative and not give raises at this point,” Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart said. “But hopefully, they will appreciate the stipends.”
Meanwhile, all administrators and directors except for Reichhart will get $1,500, which Reichhart pointed out will be comparable to what teachers are getting.
Teachers rated “effective” or “highly-effective” were already given a $1,000 stipend as part of their 2020-2021 contract. On top of that, “effective” teachers who are eligible for a share of the Teacher Appreciation Grant will get a little more than $612, while “highly-effective” teachers will get almost $736. The grant distribution was formally approved by the school board earlier this month.
Reichhart said that while the overall grant is down from last year, each teacher’s share is actually higher, since fewer are eligible. “It’s based on last year’s evaluations, and teachers have to be with us last year and they also have to be with us full-time this year, under the teachers’ contract,” Reichhart explained. “I think we have 92 teachers that were eligible out of our 109, I believe, on our staff.”
Board Member Mike Yankauskas said he was very happy to be able to give some money to the staff members, in spite of the hard times and declining enrollment, noting that they’re more vulnerable to COVID-19 complications than students are.
