Sallisaw school staff to receive bonus pay

Teachers, custodians and other personnel employed by the Sallisaw School system may be happy to know the Sallisaw School Board approved a one-time, “non-recurring” COVID-19 Return to Work bonus of $1,165 along with other school-related and personnel items on Monday.

The monthly meeting of the school board included the “discussion, consideration and action to provide each employee with a bonus for the recognition of the risk to personal health and the exceptional work required to prioritize the needs of students performed by all employees in returning to work during COVID-19 conditions,” which was approved based on a recommendation made by Sallisaw School Superintendent Randy Wood.

“This is a one-time deal for all the employees which includes all staff,” Wood said. “I want to make it clear. It‚s the last time this will happen but I believe they are all deserving of this.” Wood said the bonuses may include some substitute teachers and will be provided from Covid funding.

Several key personnel issues were also addressed including the hiring of former assistant superintendent Steve Merrill as a part-time treasurer for the school. Wood said Merrill, who was at the meeting, is familiar with federal programs and served well in overseeing the school‚s finances while serving as his assistant superintendent. Merrill retired from the position two months ago and the board hired Steve Barrett, a 1987 graduate of Sallisaw High School and former high school principal in Noble, as the new assistant superintendent.

“We‚re glad to have him (Merrill) back. Steve has always done a great job taking care of the finances and is very familiar with federal programs,” Wood said. The board also approved employment of Kaylee Martin as Liberty Elementary Paraprofessional, Ashley Howard as a teacher assistant at Eastside Elementary and Gracie Bolen as the school nurse at the Sallisaw Middle School and high school for the 2022-23 school year.

Resignations were also approved for Ashley Crainshaw- Liberty Elementary Teacher Assistant, Linda Upchurch- Liberty/ Eastside Nurse, and Caitlin Spyres-Eastside Teacher Assistant.

Other items approved included facility use requests from the Sequoyah County TIMES for the annual Women‚s Expo planned on Oct. 12 at the Sallisaw Middle School Cafeteria, and Broke Bois Audio to use the Sallisaw High School parking lot from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 24.

Sallisaw High School Principal Russell Tillery provided the Sallisaw High School annual student dropout report and the College Remediation report. According to the state department‚s website, Sallisaw is listed as having a drop out rate of 7.32 but Tillery said he believed it was closer to 6.16 percent. “We‚re headed in the right direction,” he said.

According to the College Remediation Report, Sallisaw High School received a grade of 10.32 percent for Math and English, Tillery said.

Merrill provided the revenue collected for the month of August and the Activity Fund Balances.

General Fund II revenue collected for August was $3,711,636.95 making the total collected for the entire year, $4,053,416.59.

Building Fund 21 revenue collected in August was $3,706.99 with $11,417.98 collected for the entire year.

Sinking Fund 41 revenue collected in August was $10,297.54 with $32,284.68 collected for the entire year.

Activity fund balances reported were as follows: Admin. Activity fund balance ($37,765.06), Sallisaw High School ($195,113.54), Sallisaw Middle School ($28,564.81), Eastside ($8,066.91), Liberty ($18,265.71), and Food Service Fund Balance ($558.51).

The board also approved Sallisaw Public Schools District 1-1 Indian Policies and Procedures Parent Committees for JOM and Title VI and also the JOM Indian Education Committee meetings and Title VI Indian Education Parent Committee meetings for the 2022-23 school year.

Other items approved were the Estimate of Needs and Budget for 2022-23 school year; Student Fundraisers and Activity Account use for 2022-23 school year; District boundaries from the 2020 Census; Sanctioning a Booster Club for the FFA program to purchase awards and provide scholarships; a state-wide Alternative Education Academy Plan; a contract with People Inc. for Educational Services for Level D and Level E facilities; and revision of the policy for the “GFK” (i.e. which pertains to Senate Bill 615 requiring public schools and public charter schools to restrict access to multiple occupancy restrooms and locker rooms based on students‚ sex assigned at birth).

The board also approved a substitute teacher pay increase to $75 a day for noncertified teachers and $85 a day for certified teachers to help meet the demand by providing a more competitive pay increase, Wood said.