T-R PHOTO BY SUSANNA MEYER Board member Leah Stanley and Board Vice President Sara Faltys. Stanley discusses the retention payment with board members and explains why she is excited to provide it for Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) staff.

Earlier in the year, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that she planned on awarding certain teachers a retention bonus of $1,000, but many Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) staff members would not be able to reap the benefits.

Because of this, Superintendent Theron Schutte — joining the meeting via Zoom — presented the school board with a proposal to provide a retention payment similar to the governor’s bonus to all MCSD employees meeting certain criteria at Monday night’s regular meeting.

In order to qualify for the governor’s bonus, teachers finishing their 2021-2022 contract have to be teaching in person between grades preschool and 12, and they must be a full-time employee. Schutte said this excluded valuable staff like school counselors, teacher-librarians and special education behavioral strategists, not to mention hourly employees, from the payment.

“As we looked more clearly at the number of people who would be positively impacted by the retention payment, it came out to approximately 325 of our 751 total employees,” Schutte said. “I think most of us would contend that it takes all of us in order to put forward a high-quality educational experience for our young people, and never more so than during what has taken place over the course of the last two years.”

Schutte proposed that all full-time employees employed prior to Oct. 1, 2021 who complete their contract for the current school year receive a retention payment of $1,000 using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.

Any part-time employees meeting the same requirements would be given a prorated payment. For example, an employee working seven hours a day would only receive $875.

“We are very thankful for the infusion of funds that the governor has provided,” Schutte said. “We’re fortunate that by having taken a measured approach in our usage of the various ESSER funds that have been made available to us by the federal and state government, that we’re in a position where we can comfortably make sure that all of our full-time employees are treated equally, and with equal respect in regards to the effort that it’s taken, both physically and mentally, to serve our students, our parents and our community.”

In addition, Schutte requested that the board members be willing to approve a similar payment during the 2022-2023 school year for full time employees who received the initial payment and choose to stay with MCSD, assuming that ESSER funds are still available for that purpose.

“That (second payment) in my eyes is really more geared towards retention whereas this year’s payment is, I think, more of a thank you and a short-term retention for the remainder of this year,” Schutte said.

Several board members shared enthusiastic support for the proposal, including Zach Wahl, who said he was glad they could thank staff for all of their hard work.

“I really like this. We’re sending a message to our staff, who have been dedicated to filling roles throughout the community, throughout last year. I couldn’t think of a better time to do this,” Wahl said. “Prices are high, right? A lot of these people are hourly employees, and this is going to be a big boost to our staff. I hope that we can retain them, and I hope this will help out for next year.”

Board member Leah Stanley was equally enthusiastic about the retention payment.

“It takes the entire staff across the board to make the whole process run smoothly and the whole system work. So I like the idea that we’re providing this to everyone and not just to select individuals given that the intent is a thank you,” Stanley said.

The board approved the retention payment by a 6-0 vote as board member Karina Hernandez was absent. A motion to commit to approving a similar payment next year passed by the same margin.

This payment will be included with staff member’s March 31 paycheck, and it will be subject to income taxes.

In other business,

the board:

• Heard an update from the Student School Board Representatives.

• Recognized the boys bowling team for completing the season as state runners-up in Class 3A.

• Approved the resurfacing of Fisher Elementary School playground at a cost of $45,256.

• Approved the replacement of Marshalltown High School (MHS) room 182 unit ventilator at a cost of $16,350.

• Approved the removal of two unit ventilators in room 15 of MHS at a cost of $23,650.

• Reviewed board policies 408.1 Licensed Employee Professional Development, 408.3 Tutoring and 410.7 Exchange Teachers.

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Contact Susanna Meyer

at 641-753-6611 or

smeyer@timesrepublican.com.