Burlington School Board approves bonuses for non-certified staff pledging to return in the fall
The Burlington School Board voted Monday to pay non-certified staff bonuses to keep working for the district following a move by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to pay retention bonuses to teachers earlier this year.
The motion passed in a 5-1 vote, with board president Joel Sieren voting against the measure and board member Anita McVay abstaining due to her husband's employment with the district.
Non-certified staff who were employed on Oct. 1, 2021, and are still working for the district on Oct. 1, 2022, will be eligible for the bonuses, which will be paid out from the October 2022 payroll.
The bonuses essentially will be the amount of three days' pay, depending on the average salary of the category of position rather than on an individual employee's average salary.
The categories that will be eligible for the bonuses includes administration, administrative secretaries, professional services, maintenance, clerical (which includes paraeducators), custodial, food services and transportation.
Greg Reynolds, board secretary and director of business for the district, later clarified that all non-certified district staff categories that meet eligibility requirements will receive bonuses, with substitute teachers being the only exception.
More: Burlington School Board approves $1,000 bonus plan for state-excluded certified staff
District employees must sign agreements pledging to keep working for the district through Oct. 1, 2022, to be able to receive the bonuses.
Bonus amounts are expected to range as high as $1,200 for administration employees and as low as $155 for food service workers.
The bonuses will cost the district about $135,000 and will be paid using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
About 345 district employees are believed to be eligible for the bonuses.
The move comes after the state announced in January it would pay $1,000 retention bonuses to teachers who met certain eligibility requirements and pledged to continue working their current teaching assignments until June 30.
More: West Burlington, Mediapolis offer retention bonuses to staff not included in state's plan
Under those guidelines, 252 Burlington teachers qualified for retention bonuses.
In March, the board voted to approve $1,000 retention bonuses for other teaching staff who did not initially qualify for the state's bonuses, which amounted to 40 certified staff members.
Those additional bonuses cost the district about $43,000, which was paid out in April with ESSER funds.
The West Burlington and Mediapolis school districts passed similar plans in March for certified and non-certified staff excluded from the governor's plan.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to further clarify which district staff positions may be eligible to receive retention bonuses.
Brad Vidmar covers public safety and education for The Hawk Eye and can be reach via email at BVidmar@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Burlington School Board approves bonus plan for returning staff
