By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend school district wants to keep its employees. At Monday's Board of Education meeting, the district approved another round of retention payments to help make that happen. The board also reached an agreement for base pay for staff, and also finalized several other fees and reimbursements.
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency (ESSER) federal funds were issued to districts last year to specifically address pandemic-related situations. Monday night the board voted to use those funds as retention bonuses for the upcoming school year.
"We're using that as a way to keep our staff with us," said Superintendent Khris Thexton. "I know there have been a lot of changes over the past year, especially with classified staff and other job opportunities out there. We wanted to use the ESSER-II dollars to keep that staff with us, instead of going after another job and bringing someone else in and trying to train them."
Certified employees will receive a one-time check of $1,500 in August. Classified employees will receive an extra 72 cents for every hour of work, paid out each paycheck. After an executive session, the board announced the starting pay for teachers in the district would be increased to $42,200.
The board also approved the mileage reimbursement rate to qualified parents living outside of Great Bend city limits. Last year, 104 families participated in the program, transporting 176 students a total of more than 176,600 miles. The reimbursement rate, which saves the district from a district bus route, was set at 50 cents per mile.
The district will see higher meal prices for the 2022-23 year. There were no enrollment changes for the upcoming school year, but lunch prices for students K-12 in the district will increase 15 cents per meal. Milk prices also increased from 40 cents to 50 cents. Breakfast prices around the district increased from a dollar to $1.25.