Some West Bonner County teachers to receive bonus, no base raise
Some school teachers in the West Bonner County School district will receive a one-time bonus of $750 to reflect the added challenges of teaching in the 2020-2021 school year, but will not see an increase of base pay.
Governor Brad Little’s cutback of roughly 5% of total state funds this summer resulted in a roughly $99 million cut for Idaho schools.
That means that for the time being, the WBCSD will draw from contingency funds to provide a one-time bonus of $750 to teachers who meet certain specifications for time spent with the school and their level of the district's pay scale, said board clerk Jennifer Anselmo in a separate email. In total, those one-time bonuses will cost $24,000.
“It’s not ideal,” said chairman Sandy Brower. “But we do want to acknowledge we appreciate them. And we are dipping into contingency to make this happen, unfortunately.”
The school district is also covering health insurance, which increased in rate by 8.8% this year Anselmo said. Total insurance costs with this increase will cost roughly $80,000 for the district.
“With the governor’s holdback there wasn’t any money,” Brower said. “Teachers requested a raise on base, which we all agreed they deserve. Unfortunately there wasn’t anything to provide that raise with.”
The board will also need to find solutions to address the fastest-growing student body in the county at Priest Lake Elementary School said Paul Anselmo, WBCSD superintendent.
Currently there are 66 children attending the school. However, it is unclear when further action will be necessary given potential enrollment fluctuation due to COVID-19.
“They only have three teachers, so they’re teaching combo classes,” Jennifer Anselmo said in a separate interview. “We’ve added a little bit of time with a paraprofessional.”
The school board further moved to approve the removal of a petition for expansion of IC 33-1017, a state fund to be used for facility improvements to correct unsafe or unhealthy conditions. There were complications in moving the money out of that fund, Jennifer Anselmo said, and the deadline passed.
Instead, she said, the school board will continue to work with legislators to secure funding in the next school year.
“It’s a point of interest,” Paul Anselmo said. “[But] there are no funds.”
The board’s next regular meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Oct. 21. The board will also hold a continuous improvement planning meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 14. Both are open to the public.