Teachers get $1,000, other staff $500, for efforts during pandemic
Over the last year and a half, Marysville teachers and staff faced an unprecedented task, so in return the district will offer them an equally unique show of appreciation.
The Marysville Board of Education Thursday night, extended the contract with the local teachers union by two years. Included in that was a one-time bonus of $1,000 for all teachers and $500 for all other staff members employed in 2020-21.
The district employs 369 teachers and 237 classified employees, meaning the bonuses will cost the district just under $490,000. District officials said cost saving measures implemented during the infancy of the pandemic will allow the district to absorb the cost.
Marysville Superintendent Diane Allen said the bonuses, which evolved out of discussions with union representatives, are a way for the district to show that the extra efforts of the staff were not unnoticed. She said district employees not only developed strategies for working through restrictions, they were ready to adjust those plans quickly if things weren’t working.
“It was a heavy lift,” Allen said. “We wanted to let everyone know we appreciated their work.”
Board member Dick Smith, a former educator, gushed over the efforts of teachers through an ever-changing work environment.
“It just astounds me with what the teachers have been able to do,” Smith said.
Smith said he has heard the grumblings that teachers were not working as hard during COVID because of remote or hybrid learning models. He said that wasn’t the case.
“The reality was, they were working much, much harder,” Smith said. “…Stress levels were out of sight.”
Board president Sue Devine was quick to point out that every job in the district was faced with incredible challenges, from bus drivers dealing with changing routes and capacity restrictions, to the custodial staff taking on new sanitation standards.
“There wasn’t anybody in our school district that didn’t go above and beyond,” Devine said.
She noted that even the food service department, while not serving full buildings, was tasked with producing and distributing free lunches to any student who asked.
“Everybody that showed up and put their hand out got a meal,” she said.
To be eligible for the bonus for last year’s effort, staff members must still be contracted with the district this year. Those leaving the district prior to the 2021-22 school year will not get the payout. Teachers who retired after last year are eligible for the money.
Devine said she was pleased with the entire contract process that started with informal talks with union leadership, eventually resulting in a new extension. The existing deal with teachers was set to expire after 2021-22 but will now run through 2024.
In 2022-23, all employees – certified, classified, administrative and School Age Child Care – will receive a 2.25% raise. The following year all staffers will receive a 2.5% pay increase.
District Treasurer Todd Johnson called the contract extension fair for the district, the staff and the taxpayers.
Allen explained that another one-time clause built into the contract allows staff members to request a payout for up to 10 days of unused vacation, rather than the normal five days. The superintendent said the pandemic created situations within the district that made it difficult for employees to use vacation.
Smith said the bonuses paid to staff were “minuscule” when compared to the time, effort and energy staff put in during the last school year. He said teachers put expectations on themselves that they would meet the needs of each student, regardless of the situation.
“That’s not easy under the best of times and we’ve just come through the worst,” Smith said.