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Whiteford Board approves one-time off-schedule payments for regular staff after stronger-than-expected audit results
Summary
The Whiteford Agricultural School Board voted Nov. 10 to pay a one-time off-schedule payment of $750 to full-time regular staff and $375 to part-time regular staff after auditors reported a positive year-end fund balance; the payment is subject to eligibility dates and is not pensionable.
The Whiteford Agricultural School Board on Nov. 10 approved a one-time off-schedule payment to regular district employees after the district's 2024–25 audit showed a better-than-anticipated net gain to the fund balance.
Superintendent Scott L. Huard asked the board to "offer a one-time off-schedule payment of $750 for full-time employees and $375 for part-time employees" to regular Whiteford staff who were employed on Nov. 10, 2025 and remain employed through Dec. 31, 2025. Huard said the payment would be made in January 2026 and emphasized the district's improved fiscal position following the audit.
Trustee Tom Wenzel moved to approve the payment; the motion was seconded by Brandon lott and carried with five yes votes, one abstention (Trustee Jeff Bunge) and one absence (Shane Hillard). The board recorded that the payment "is NOT additional wages for ongoing work during the 2025–26 school year and will NOT be treated as an ORS pensionable stipend." The motion sets the payment schedule to be completed before Jan. 30, 2026.
The vote followed the audit presentation earlier in the meeting by Sarah Rafko of Calkins, Hehl & Rafko, CPAs, PLLC. The board separately approved the 2024–25 audited financial statements later in the meeting.
Background and eligibility details: the payment applies only to regular Whiteford employees (it explicitly excludes coaches, substitutes and contracted individuals), requires the employee to be on staff Nov. 10, 2025 and still employed Dec. 31, 2025, and will be paid in the January 2026 payroll cycle. The board noted the payment is a one-time off-schedule distribution rather than an ongoing wage increase.
The district will proceed with administrative steps to implement the payment. The meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
