Trousdale County board expands hard-to-staff bonus eligibility and approves prorated payments for teachers
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Summary
The board unanimously added K-8 and 6-8 endorsements to the district's definition of hard-to-staff middle-school positions and approved prorated hard-to-staff and schoolwide bonuses for teachers who became certified mid-year, including April Goshen. The board emphasized documenting changes for audit purposes.
The Trousdale County Board of Education voted unanimously to expand the district's hard-to-staff bonus eligibility to include teachers who hold either K-8 or 6-8 endorsements for middle-school positions and to approve prorated bonus payments for teachers who became certified during the school year.
Board members discussed email guidance from the Tennessee licensure office (Taylor Reed mentioned in the discussion) and noted that state rules have changed over time, affecting which endorsements were available when some long-serving teachers earned licenses. After debate about equity between teachers who hold older K-8 credentials and more recent 6-8 endorsements, the board approved a motion to include both K-8 and 6-8 endorsements in the district's definition of hard-to-staff middle-school positions so that teachers with those endorsements qualify for the bonus.
April Goshen, who said she was hired as an educational assistant and became a certified special-education teacher on Sept. 30, asked the board to prorate her hard-to-staff bonus to reflect the seven months she served as the licensed teacher of record. Goshen told the board: "I'm respectfully asking the board to consider awarding the prorated bonus that would reflect the 7 months that I served in as a licensed special education teacher." The board voted unanimously to prorate and award Goshen both the hard-to-staff portion and the prorated schoolwide bonus for the prior school year; finance staff were directed to calculate the exact amounts and process payment through payroll.
Board members repeatedly emphasized the need to record rule changes and exceptions in the minutes and in the plan document for future audits. One member noted that auditors examine compensation and would expect any deviation from the plan to be documented in board minutes. The board asked the superintendent's staff and finance to prepare the numbers and administrative details necessary to implement the prorated payments.