SMCISD Board Approves Compensation For Employees On Leave Due To Coronavirus

Staff Reports

On Thursday, the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District approved a resolution to pay employee’s compensation due to school closure caused by COVID-19.

The resolution allows faculty and staff to receive their regular salary while working off-site during the public health disaster. 

Hourly employees, such as bus drivers, are included with a guaranteed 30-hours at their hourly rate.

According to staff, the bus drivers work an average of 30-hrs a week based on the regular bus routes driven; some receive additional as based on the demand, or need, for field trips or sports events.

Board Trustee, Miguel Arredondo, proposed amending the resolution to give bus drivers a guaranteed 40-hours.

Arredondo said it was not a bonus but a measure to cover a loss of income for the additional hours some of the district’s bus drivers may work on “somewhat regularly.” 

“I think as the economics of our community drastically change, and as people lose their sources of income,” Arredondo said, “And because I don’t know what every transportation employee in the district is facing right now, this is my one opportunity to shore up the financial losses that could possibly happen. More than anything, I think it’s just the right thing to do.”

The amendment failed 2 to 5 with Board Trustees Anne Halsey and Arredondo.

Board Trustee Kathy Hansen attended the meeting remotely.

Board President John McGlothlin said he agreed with Arredondo that he didn’t want anyone to experience a pay disruption, but he didn’t want one category to receive a bonus either.

If an hourly employee is called in over the upcoming weeks, the hours they work will be deducted from their guaranteed 30 hours and compensated at a premium rate of time and a half. The remaining hours from their overall thirty will receive their usual hourly rate.

An example would be if a bus driver was called in to deliver meals along bus routes and worked a total of ten hours.

Those ten hours would be compensated at premium pay; the driver would then receive compensation for the remaining 20 hours of the guaranteed 30 at their regular rate.

The Texas Association of School Board says a district may pay “a premium to nonexempt employees who work during difficult times,” however, the district is not required to. 

Board Trustees also considered an amendment providing paid leave to substitutes, at administration’s discretion, if they’ve had “75 days up to this point.” The vote failed 2 to 5 with Halsey and Arredondo voting yes.

The main motion to pay employees’ compensation due to school closure passed 7-0.

The board is scheduled to meet on April 6 for an agenda prep meeting. But the board may hold an emergency meeting at 5:00 PM on March 27.

The May Election will be among the topics at the emergency; the others will include updates on the number of students in need of wi-fi access or devices for at-home learning, food-service operations, and more. 

To hear the full discussion, fast forward to 2:36:00 in the video below; viewers will be able to catch a short discussion related to daycare services before the board moves into the discussion on employee compensation.