BURTON SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES FREE SCHOOL LUNCHES FOR STAFF, INCENTIVE PAY
Employees in Burton ISD will have their school meals covered by the school district, and will also receive $1,000 in incentive pay before the winter break.
On Monday, the Burton School Board agreed to pay for meal costs for the district’s 87 staff members for the full school year. This comes after the board moved at its last meeting to provide meals to all students at no charge in order to assist families who are dealing with rising costs.
Trustee Donna Putnam said this will go a long way toward showing appreciation to teachers and staff.
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Superintendent Dr. Edna Kennedy said if every staff member ate a breakfast and lunch, the total cost would come out to approximately $27,000. The board’s action to pay for staff meals is for costs not to exceed $30,000.
The board also approved $1,000 in incentive pay for the 87 district employees, to be distributed in November. Trustees considered offering an extra $1,000 in incentive pay in June 2023, with Dr. Kennedy noting additional mineral monies that have come into the district. However, the board held off on approving the June incentive pay, saying while they are not opposed to doing so, it would be safer to do this in two steps and see if the district is in a different position financially next year.
A public hearing was held for the district’s $15,932,511 budget and tax rate of $1.0546 per $100 valuation proposed for the 2022-23 school year. After no comments were received, the board moved to adopt the budget and tax rate.
The new rate is up from last year’s rate of $0.9782 per $100. This year's rate has a lower maintenance and operations (M&O) rate than last year at $0.8546, but the interest and sinking (I&S) rate, which pays for bond debt, is higher at $0.2000. Last year’s rate was made up of $0.9033 for M&O and $0.0749 for I&S.
Also on Monday, the board:
- Approved the district’s portion of an interlocal agreement with Washington County to provide a school resource officer.
- Tabled action on Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative’s proposal and proposal cost for the first phase of the bond building project.
- Tabled the purchase of a 2023 school Suburban.
Excellent job by the Burton School Board of going the extra mile in rewarding and also trying to retain their employees! Other school districts in the area and the state would be wise to follow the example being shown by the Burton School Board.