The Sampson County Schools Board of Education discusses employee pay during a Tuesday morning session.

The Sampson County Schools Board of Education discusses employee pay during a Tuesday morning session.

CLINTON — Summer school pay and the summer school contracts drew down much fire Tuesday morning at the Sampson County Board of Education meeting.

Teachers in Sampson County Schools who are teaching in summer school are to see an additional bonus after the long meeting Tuesday morning; however, concerns were raised about the transparency of the process and how the contracts were presented to the staff.

Compensation for the teachers this summer is via a per diem rate, Superintendent Dr. David Goodin said, and that a first year teacher would have a lower per diem than a 20-year teacher, for an example. Goodin said that there are 2,569 students in summer school this year.

“We felt that was a fair way to do it, by offering per diem,” Goodin noted. Per diem essentially equates to “daily base pay.”

On Tuesday morning, after much haggling, the board decided to increase the bonus that is being paid out of the ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) Fund. ESSER was established as part of the Education Stabilization Fund in the CARES Act.

“That funding provides us with an opportunity to give a bonus, with a minimum of $1,200,” he said. “We upped that to $1,500.”

That $1,500, which was approved previously, does include hourly workers as well, but theirs is prorated on the number of hours that they worked. Board Chairman Sonya Powell brought up concerns about the fact that they weren’t going to get the full $1,500, and Goodin clarified that was the case if they didn’t work the required number of hours.

Hourly folks in summer school would be those like bus drivers, teacher assistants and cafeteria workers. Sampson has a total of 216 teachers that are participating in summer school.

Major concerns were raised about the contracts as well, with board members stating that there were serious concerns about not only the timing of the process, but whether those signing them understood the details.

“I don’t want to hear about that contract, and I will tell you why,” said Powell. “My understanding is the contract was given to them on one day and they were told to walk in and sign it at the same time. They weren’t even given time to read the contract and they were rushed to sign them. This is what I have been told from several different sources.”

She said that she was told that they were given the contracts on a Thursday and they had to turn them in the same day.

“So most of those people don’t even understand the contracts that they were signing,” said Powell, who said she saw a contract and had a hard time understanding it. “So I can understand why they might not have understood that.”

Powell said that she only heard about $1,500 bonuses, and didn’t hear anything about prorating. No other board member said that they had heard that either.

Goodin mentioned the school system has a budget of $8 million in summer school funds to be spread out over a three-year period, covering four cycles of summer school. That money will be available through September 2024.

“We want to make sure we remain in the budget, but there is a little bit of wiggle room there,” said Goodin.

“Are different teachers at different schools being told different things about their $1,500?” asked Powell, who clarified her question was in regard to teachers. “I have been told that Midway High School teachers were told they were going to get their $1,500 regardless and I have also been told that teachers at another high school have been told that if they don’t come back … number one, they don’t want them back that week in August, that they have not been given the opportunity, that they have been told they are not coming back that week in August, and therefore they are not going to get the full $1,500 — not by their choice but by being told that they can’t come back.”

Administrative staff confirmed that that was not the case, and that they should not be telling anyone that. Teachers had the option to work session one, which is currently underway; session two, which is in August before school goes back; or both sessions.

Additionally there was a list provided to the board with comparisons of nearby counties and their summer school pay.

“The teachers have signed the contracts based on the per diem rates and the $1,500 and the contracts are done,” said Board Member Kim Schmidlin. “The teachers that opted not to teach, opted not to teach based on that offer. To modify that now means that we didn’t give that kind of consideration to people who have decided not to teach.”

“I feel like that is a little bit of a dangerous situation that we are getting into, to make a change after we already have a contract,” said Schmidlin.

Powell answered back. “There were teachers that didn’t know what other counties where paying at the time they were forced to sign their contracts and that they are very upset,” she said, noting had they known what other counties were doing, they wouldn’t have signed the contract in Sampson.

“These people are working, but they don’t want to work for less than what everybody around them is getting,” said Powell. “I think I can understand that. If we don’t do right by them this summer, next summer we might not have any teachers that are willing to teach summer school. We are setting a precedent if we don’t listen to our staff being upset about the fact that they feel as though they are not getting what the deserve.”

Earlier in the meeting, Goodin said that they have been sending out notes thanking them for their willingness to help with serving the students over the summer.

Schmidlin said that she “hadn’t had the experience of anyone complaining” when she was at a blood drive with summer school staff. Board member Sandra Carroll said that she, on the other hand, had heard complaints.

Schmidlin clarified that whatever precedent they set, if the funding runs out, the rest will have to come from somewhere else. Goodin confirmed they would have to make budget changes and get them approved by the Department of Public Instruction.

Carroll made a motion for $1,000 for each employee and that it not be prorated. Schmidlin requested to amend the motion “to include an additional $250 to be prorated for those hourly employees for the same way that the original $1,500 was for hourly and teachers during summer school.” This would have been the same contract with the additional $250.

The calculations were that it would cost close to half a million dollars, which Schmidlin said she felt was setting the bar too high to be able to be maintained. Schimdlin’s amendment failed. The vote for the original was a tie, which meant it failed as well.

Board member Robert Burley recused himself from all of these votes as his wife is teaching summer school. A third motion was thrown out by board member Eleanor Bradshaw for $500 to teachers and it died for a lack of a second.

Goodin said that he didn’t want to make a recommendation as he was involved in the process of creating the current recommendations and authored it. He said that he felt the $1,500 was fair compensation and said that this is why it is before the board.

“If we don’t decide anything today, then it stays the same,” said Powell.

Goodin said that they had had “enough wiggle room” to increase it by $1,000 for the teaching staff. Schmidlin reiterated that going too far would put them over the budget, and Goodin did not recommend that.

Carroll made a motion for teachers to receive $1,000, no matter how much they had worked — in addition to the original bonuses. Bradshaw seconded. The motion passed with Carroll, Bradshaw, Powell and Glenn Faison voting for it. Kim Schmidlin and Daryll Warren were opposed.

Reach Emily M. Williams at 910-590-9488. Follow her on Twitter at @NCNewsWriter. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd and like us on Facebook.