Employees at Carmel Clay Schools are receiving a bonus for their hard work managing through a school year during a pandemic.
The CCS school board voted June 14 to award a $1,000 stipend to most employees, including teachers and administrators, and a $500 stipend to non-salaried employees who worked at least 45 days or the equivalent hours during the 2020-21 school year.
The total amount of stipends to be paid out is more than $2 million.
“We’re trying to show some recognition for the difficult situation we all had and for additional effort and time spent,” said Roger McMichael, CCS assistant superintendent for business affairs.
CCS is able to provide the bonuses because of COVID-19 relief funds from the federal government. The district received approximately $2.2 million in the latest round of federal funding. Earlier in the pandemic, it received $230,000 and $900,000 to help cover COVID-19-related expenses.
McMichael said the stipend amounts are tied to the amount of funding the district received, which is why some other districts can offer their employees higher amounts. The funding formula is based in part on poverty levels within the districts.
“We feel with the stipend we’re recommending we can manage that financially, but we still must maintain fiscal stability,” McMichael said. “We feel this is the best we can do.”
