Board discusses state bonus under Educational Freedom Act and whether to add local top‑up

Board members discussed how a state‑funded bonus under the Educational Freedom Act will be distributed to qualifying classroom teachers and whether the district should provide a locally funded supplemental payment to non‑eligible staff.

Staff told the board that the state program provides a payment to teachers who meet the statute’s eligibility rules (including a minimum of 120 days worked and other state conditions). Ventura explained that the state list will pay many employees who served during the prior year, including some who are no longer employed by the district, but others — for example educators who did not meet the 120‑day threshold — will not qualify. Ventura said the district had roughly 1,000 employees who would not receive the state bonus under the eligibility rules; the figure includes both classified staff and some teachers who did not meet the state criteria.

Board members raised equity and budget questions. Some members argued that all district employees who served the students should share in any local supplementation, while others urged caution because the district’s fund balance must remain available for other priorities. Suggestions included a tiered local payment (for example, a smaller payment for non‑eligible employees) and running several cost scenarios to understand the budget impact. Mister Carter and other board members asked staff to calculate dollar amounts and bring figures back to the board for consideration; staff agreed to prepare scenarios for the upcoming voting meeting.

No board action was taken; staff said the final state list and official state confirmation were still pending and that the board could decide later whether to fund any local supplement from fund balance.