ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Public School System will pay every employee a $5,000 bonus, according to a resolution adopted by the school board on Monday. The resolution says the bonuses will be paid from funds received by the system from the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Funds from the federal government.
Randolph County Schools has received nearly $50 million in ESSER funding which was included in the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide premium pay to employees and substitutes to address COVID-related disruptions and staff shortages.
According to the school board, substitutes who work the equivalent of 20 full-time days between October 1, 2021, and January 31, 2022, will be paid a one-time COVID-19 incentive bonus of $1,000 on February 25, 2022.New hires between October 2, 2021, and January 10, 2022, will received a $2,500 recruitment bonus.
ESSER awards are made by the federal government to State education departments who then administer the funds for their respective states and pass funding on to local education units.
In North Carolina, the Charlotte-Mecklenberg and Wake County systems has have received $459 million and $310 million, respectively, of the over $4.6 billion in funds received through the two most recent ESSER funding rounds. Asheboro City Schools received over $14 million and Uwharrie Charter received $1.4 million.
