Richardson ISD votes to maintain staff compensation, student meals during coronavirus-related school closures

Richardson ISD is taking steps to ensure employees and students are taken care of during coronavirus-related school closures.

The board of trustees voted unanimously at an emergency meeting March 17 to compensate all RISD employees for the remainder of the school year. Additionally, the board voted to provide meals to students while schools are closed.

“I want to be able to give, as I’ve called it, a full-throated assurance that all of our RISD employees [will] be able to be paid for the remainder of the year,” Superintendent Jeannie Stone said at the meeting.

Employees may have their job duties adjusted, Stone said. The district is also considering staggering hours for employees who need to be on campus, which should help mitigate risk of contracting the virus.

Starting March 23, students will be able to receive meals during the school week, according to Stone. Food will be brought to school bus stops instead of campuses to decrease the number of people gathering at one location, Stone said. The district will continue to observe its existing academic calendar and will not serve meals on scheduled holidays, she added.

RISD schools will close indefinitely beginning March 23, and the district will transition to online classes beginning March 25, RISD announced March 16.