Tennessee county offering $1K bonuses to school staff shouldering pandemic

Officials in a Tennessee county will offer $1,000 bonuses to retain school employees who have shouldered additional tasks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, The Associated Press reported. 

According to a news release, Rutherford County school district employees qualify for a $500 payment if they were employed with the district from Oct. 1 to Dec. 17. 

Employees who remain with the district between January and May 2022 will qualify for an additional $500 payment, according to the AP. 

New employees hired through the end of December are eligible to qualify for the second bonus payment, the AP reported. 

The bonuses will be funded using federal pandemic relief money, the AP noted.

“The federal government realized there is a lot more burden falling on the schools,” Rutherford County assistant superintendent for budget and finance Doug Bodary said in a statement.

–Updated on Nov. 8 at 9:30 a.m.