Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
School board adopts 3-year MOU to continue AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers
Loading...
Summary
The Rock Ridge Public Schools board approved a three-year memorandum of understanding to continue hosting AmeriCorps Seniors foster-grandparent volunteers in district classrooms, covering background checks, a $4/hour tax-free stipend and a $300 district contribution per placed volunteer.
The Rock Ridge Public Schools board voted to adopt a three-year memorandum of understanding to continue placing AmeriCorps Seniors foster-grandparent and senior companion volunteers in district classrooms.
Christina Bartos, who identified herself as the coordinator for AmeriCorps Seniors with Lutheran Social Service, told the board the volunteers are adults aged 55 and older who help students with reading, math and socialization. "When I was here 3 years ago, it was voted to have 2 volunteers at each of the schools," Bartos said. She described program safeguards: "We make sure that their background checks are complete, make sure that they have training, 20 hours of preservice training before they start." She said volunteers receive a tax-free stipend of $4 per hour and mileage reimbursement.
Board members discussed the district's contribution to the program. A board member asked whether the $300 district contribution covers transportation and other costs; Bartos said the $300 is intended to cover transportation-related costs and the non-taxable stipend for placed volunteers. Bartos said the most the program has had in a single year recently was about three volunteers, though the MOU allows for up to two per elementary school and the program could have up to six placed volunteers during a year.
A board member moved to adopt the MOU and the motion was seconded; the chair declared the motion passed. The MOU presented to the board had previously been scheduled to run through about December 2025, and Bartos asked the district to approve an additional three years of partnership.
The consent agenda approved earlier in the meeting also recorded donations to district schools, including clothing from the Virginia Elks and a gift from the VGS class of 1957 to the science department, and a Community Foundation grant for $11,867 was listed among consent items.
The board did not record a roll-call vote in the transcript; the motion was entered and announced as "passed."
