Wake school employees may get $3,750 more in bonuses. Plus, raises are on the table
Wake County school employees could get an additional $3,750 in bonuses following complaints that a $1,250 bonus approved earlier this month was insufficient.
The Wake County school system emailed employees on Wednesday that the school board will consider next week a proposal to use one-time federal COVID relief funds to approve additional bonuses. District administrators will propose Tuesday that the $3,750 in recognition and retention bonuses be paid to employees in January, May and November of 2022.
The new round of bonuses would bring the total amount for district employees to $5,000.
Wake, like other school systems nationally, is facing major staffing shortages that are forcing the remaining employees to do more. Complaints about working conditions and low pay led to a three-day bus driver sickout earlier this month that disrupted transportation service for thousands of students.
Wake NCAE said in a statement Thursday that the latest proposal “are positive steps in the right direction, but not enough to solve the ongoing crisis.”
“We appreciate Wake County Schools’ attention to the staffing crisis and their acknowledgment that they have more resources available than they suggested on Nov. 2,” said Kristin Beller, president of Wake NCAE, said in the statement.
“But WCPSS continues to sit on millions of federal dollars that could be put to use today, providing long-awaited raises and compensation for the extra work created by staffing shortages. Our kids can’t wait any longer.”
On Nov. 2, the school board approved:
▪ A one-time recognition and retention bonus of $1,250 to be paid in the November paycheck to all employees who currently receive benefits. Part-time staff would receive a prorated bonus.
▪ An increase to bring all employees to a minimum of $13 an hour. This would be retroactive to July 1 and would be included in the December paycheck.
▪ A 1% increase in the local supplement paid to certified staff retroactive to July 1. This increase, which would be paid in the December paycheck, would go to people paid on the teacher and student services personnel scales.
But the response fell short for Wake NCAE, which held a rally outside the Nov. 2 school board meeting and called for at least a $2,000 hazard pay bonus. Wake employees noted how some other North Carolina districts are using COVID funds to offer bonuses of up to $5,000.
School board members promised Nov. 2 that they’d come back with more bonuses and raises.
Higher pay for subs, staff also on table
In addition to the bonuses, administrators will present Tuesday a plan to raise pay for substitute teachers.
Wake pays substitute teachers $80 a day unless they have a teaching license, which raises it to $103. But schools are having a hard time finding enough subs, forcing teachers and instructional assistants to cover additional classes.
The district will use savings to pay subs more.
The school board will also discuss Tuesday raising salaries for all non-certified staff. This would include a minimum starting wage of $15 per hour with higher rates for instructional assistants and bus drivers.
Wake could approve the higher base pay on Dec. 7. But it would come with the caveat that Wake doesn’t have the money to do the raises on its own.
“In order to achieve this, we need the support of state and local governments,” Wake said in the email. “School boards in North Carolina do not have taxing authority. They rely entirely on funding from state lawmakers, county commissioners and the federal government.”
Wake told employees that “the state budget is critical to deciding pay increases for teachers and other staff.”
Also in the email, Wake told employees “to follow state budget discussions, including updates regarding the Leandro lawsuit.” On Wednesday, a judge in the long-running Leandro case ordered the state to transfer $1.7 billion from the treasury to increase funding for public education.
State leaders announced Wednesday that a budget could be voted on next week, The News & Observer reported.
New pay demands from Wake NCAE
Wake NCAE presented a new list of demands Thursday to the school system.:
▪ Increase the bonus to at least $2,000 for each employee. (This was written before the $3,750 in new bonuses was announced.)
▪ Increase salaries for support staff to $17 an hour or a 20%, whichever is greater.
▪ Provide 6% increase to the local supplement for certified staff.
▪ Pay bus drivers $20 an hour or 10% increase to hourly rate, whichever is greater, for all routes after the third route.
▪ Give instructional assistants substitute teacher pay for covering classes.
▪ Extend hours for child nutrition cashiers and assistant managers up to 8 hours per day.
▪ Allow child nutrition managers to get overtime and time-and-a-half on holidays or weekends..
▪ Allow office staff, custodians, and other non-certified employees to get overtime pay.
▪ Pay teachers an hourly rate for covering classes and extended bus duty before or after school.
“For too long transportation staff have been overworked and underpaid,” Melanie Harris, a Wake school bus drivers said in a Wake NCAE press release. “What we are asking for is not too much, just the essentials we need to keep providing quality care for the children of Wake County,
“It’s not too much to ask for to keep the school transportation system running well. Transportation is a vital part of the school system.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
