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MSD Steuben County adopts teacher appreciation grant policy; $87,000 allocation covers 16 stipends
Summary
The district adopted a revised teacher appreciation grant policy that uses an $87,000 allocation to award $5,000 stipends to 16 mentor teachers; district leaders said benefits associated with those stipends create an approximate $6,000 shortfall the district will cover from a professional development grant.
The Metropolitan School District of Steuben County’s board on second reading adopted policy 4114, which implements the teacher appreciation grant provisions tied to recent state legislation. Presenter (speaker 7) told the board the district’s allocation totals $87,000 and, under the current stipend criteria, will cover $5,000 awards for 16 mentor teachers.
"The allocation that we received was actually $87,000 that only covers stipends for 16 of our teachers," the presenter said, adding that the district expected to pay benefits on those stipends and had not budgeted the benefits portion. The presenter estimated a shortfall of about $6,000 and said the district plans to use an existing professional development grant to cover that amount so the stipends can be paid as intended.
Board members asked clarifying questions about eligibility (up to 20% of teaching staff can qualify under state guidance), and staff confirmed the administrative team and PowerSchool are prepared to handle candidate identification and payment processing. The presenter noted allocations and eligibility may be adjusted by future legislative changes and that the policy could return for refinement in another year or two.
Next steps include Human Resources identifying the 16 eligible mentor teachers and processing stipend payments and associated benefits; staff indicated they will report progress to the board once payments are scheduled.
The factual basis for this article is the presenter’s explanation and the board vote to adopt policy 4114 during the December meeting. No alternative funding sources or external grant commitments were announced at the meeting.
