Fort Worth school district staff receive COVID-19 stipend for going ‘above and beyond’
The Fort Worth school district on Tuesday voted to give teachers and other staff a one-time stipend due to their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligible full-time employees will receive $1,000 and eligible part-time employees will receive $500, the school board voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting. Trustee Anael Luebanos, whose wife is an employee of the district, abstained from the vote.
Before the vote, the board members took turns reading the stipend resolution, which says the board acknowledges that “significant numbers of District personnel have, during the 2020-21 school year, been called upon to go above and beyond in order to ensure the success of District Operations.”
“We are absolutely in awe of how everyone — teachers, principals, nutrition workers, custodians, bus drivers, and all staff have responded, adjusted and supported our kids,” President Jacinto Ramos Jr. said.
Board trustees Anne Darr, Ashley Paz and Daphne Brookins emphasized the stipend would not have been possible without the district tax increase that voters passed in November.
“Some votes are hard, and others may not be so much,” Darr said. “This one is not a hard vote for me, and I am thrilled to be able to support this.”
Steven Poole, the executive director of the United Educators Association, praised the action in a press release from the district.
“The teachers and staff have done a tremendous job under difficult circumstances this school year and they certainly deserve this surprise stipend from the school board,” Poole said in the release. “We appreciate the school board, the superintendent, and his team for the recognition of their hard work.”
Full-time substitutes who have worked and been paid since July 1 will also receive a $1,000 stipend. Substitutes who worked at least 20 days for the district will receive $500. All eligible district employees who have been employed since July 1, and were still employed by Dec. 4, will receive the one-time stipend.
“We know everything that’s being sacrificed for the education and the well being of our young people,” Trustee Quinton Phillips said before the vote. “There is just not enough ways for us to be able to tell you thank you. So hopefully this, in some small way, shows how you are deeply appreciated for everything you’re doing for this district.”
