“We've had a lot of employees that are covering during conference periods while others are out sick. We've had custodians helping all over the place,” NBISD Superintendent Cade Smith said. “We've had office staff answering the phones, just making school operations go and it's no secret that we are also short-staffed.”
The district allocates approximately 86% of its budget to personnel, Smith said, and because some part-time and full-time positions have been difficult to fill this year the district has funds remaining that are not being used.
As a result, Smith recommended using the money to give all full-time staff a $1,000 bonus and all part-time staff a $500 bonus as part of the Feb. 16 pay period.
“If we're not hiring the staff then some of the funds that we have budgeted are not being utilized,” Smith said. “We’ve got these funds dedicated to personnel; let’s give it to personnel.”
The board voted unanimously to approve the motion and also approved a plan to pay district employees their typical rate for Feb. 3 and 4 when the district closed due to inclement weather.
