Carroll ISD employees to receive regular wages following school closures

The Carroll ISD board of trustees approved a local resolution Feb. 22 to compensate employees following the district’s weeklong closure as a result of a winter storm.

The resolution passed 6-0 and allows exempt employees, such as teachers, administrators and counselors, and nonexempt employees, such as custodians, paraprofessionals and other hourly workers, to be paid their regular wages despite the school closures.

Nonexempt workers who participated in duties outside of their normal assignment as well as worked hours outside of normal district business hours will also be paid overtime.

“This resolution is doing two things. It’s saying go ahead and pay them the normal wage. And then for those select few who came in [outside district business hours], we're going to pay them,” said William Wooten, assistant superintendent for financial services. “And then, if you [performed] a duty that was not a part of your regular duty ... then we want to pay you for extra duty.”

According to Wooten, the funds for these wage payments are already accounted for in the regular budget. For the premiums given to hourly employees who work overtime, the money will come from the overtime budget.

“We're working with the departments to get timesheets in. And once we know that, we’ll have a better idea of where we would land,” Wooten said.

Carroll ISD board policy DEA (LOCAL) states that all employees will continue to receive pay for regularly scheduled duties during an emergency closure unless otherwise decided upon by the board. Local policy also states that nonexempt employees who are required to work during an emergency closing for a disaster, as declared by a federal, state, or local official or the board, shall be paid at the rate of 1 1/2 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked up to 40 hours per week.