CLINTON, Tenn. — In January, a special session of the state legislature on the voucher act, which was passed earlier this year, included a component that effectively gives educators $2,000 bonuses.
"That amounted to about, right about 50-55% of our staff," said Dr. Tim Parrott, Director of Schools for Anderson County Schools.
And while many appreciated the bonus, some felt it overlooked other non-educator school personnel.
"It left out a whole bunch of people that, really and truly, you can't run the school system without," Parrott said. "Our teachers do an amazing job, they work so hard and they deserve every penny they can get. But, they also need that support. They need the classroom cleaned, they need a custodian, they need our maintenance, we need all of those things."
Parrott proposed an idea to the Anderson County School Board to give classified school staff a $1,500 bonus from district funds. On Monday, the board unanimously approved using the district's roll-over funds to pay for the bonuses.
The roll-over fund is generally used to help schools pay for any repairs or maintenance they may need.
"Because we are in pretty good shape for our maintenance, and to put that off for a year and use that money for the bonuses," Parrott said.
Parrott adds that it's important to him that all staff at Anderson County Schools know they're valued, and that he wants to make sure that no one goes unnoticed.
"When you look at those people, our classified employees, almost 90% of our employees grew up in Anderson County, their kids go to Anderson County Schools, and they live in Anderson County. So, they're part of this community and we want to take care of them," Parrott said.
The proposal has one more hoop to jump through before going into effect. The Anderson County Commission will vote on the matter at its next meeting.
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