Guilford County School employees handout free meals for students. The district will temporarily increase essential employees' pay while working during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Photo Courtesy of Guilford County Schools
Guilford County School employees handout free meals for students. The district will temporarily increase essential employees' pay while working during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Photo Courtesy of Guilford County Schools
Some Guilford County Schools employees will receive a pay increase starting in April, depending on their job function.
The pay increases started on April 1 for hourly employees who are working in critical areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pay hike expires on April 30. The district can extend the higher pay if necessary because of COVID-19.
“Without our dedicated school nutrition and transportation staff who are preparing and distributing meals, Guilford County would be facing the potential of massive child hunger," Guilford County Schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras said in the statement.
The school district is still providing meals to its student population and has employees preparing and organizing distribution. The district said in a statement that it creating approximately 29,000 meals per day at this point and provided 157,000 meals to children since March 16.
"Additionally, without the commitment of our after-school staff, teacher assistants and custodial support, some hospital workers would not have childcare and would be unable to report for duty," Contreras said in the statement.
The superintendent noted its possible to extend the deadline, but that would depend on COVID-19's impact.
Contreras said it could be extended, but it would depend on the impact of the coronavirus.
To help reduce the spread, the district will reduce the number of non-mandatory staff members. Those workers are eligible to take paid emergency leave.
District employees with reduced hours or inability to work from home can receive pay based on the balance of hours they were working before the coronavirus pandemic. The emergency leave is in effect until April 30.
While the district waits for these essential employees to be paid, Contreras and the school board is asking the North Carolina General Assembly to compensate the workers as soon as possible.
“We respectfully ask the General Assembly to act swiftly to increase the pay of these critical hourly employees,” Contreras said. “In the meantime, however, GCS will take action immediately to prevent child hunger and the lack of childcare for frontline healthcare workers from making the pandemic even worse.”
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