Sulphur Springs ISD trustees approved 7 personnel changes, wage payments for staff during emergency school closing and the annual superintendent evaluation during a special board meeting this week.
Personnel Changes
In addition to officially approving and announcing Brandon Faircloth as athletic director and head coach, the school board also accepted resignations from three middle school employees and an instructional aide, a proposed early termination of a contract employee and hired a middle school aide.
Resigning from middle school were physical education teachers/coaches Eddie Flores and Travis Willoughby, and campus police officer Adrian Pruitt.
The proposed termination of term contract employee Amy Anderson, who the SSISD Staff Director earlier this week showed to be an employed at middle school in the Read 180 program, before the end of her contract period.
Approved to join the middle school staff as a special education aide was Kwasia Timmons.
The resignation of Jenifer Maldonado, an instructional aide at Austin Academic Center, was also approved by trustees at the Jan. 24, 2022, special school board meeting.
Administrative Matters
After evaluation, SSISD Board of Trustees agreed to extend Superintendent Michael Lamb’s contract for an additional year.
Lamb during the public forum portion of Monday evening’s meeting recognized the school board members as part of the district’s observance of School Board Appreciation Month. Each campus also sent gifts and tokens of thanks to board members as well.
DEC(Local) Wage Payments
The school board approved Resolution 1-22 addressing wage payments for employees who are idled, or told not to report to work and those required to report to work to provide emergency-related services during emergency school closures – such as the recent school closure due to illnesses.
“The Board concludes that continuing wage payments to all regular employees – contractual and noncontractual, salaried and non-salaried – who suffer a loss in pay due to an emergency closing serves the public purposes of maintaining morale, reducing turnover, and ensuring continuity of District staffing when schools reopen,” the resolution states. “As to nonexempt employees who were called on to work during an emergency closing, the Board further concludes that payment of these employees at a premium rate, as provided at DEA(LOCAL), serves the public purposes of maintaining morale, providing equity between idled employees and employees who provide emergency-related services, and recognizing the services of essential staff.”
Essentially, the resolution continues wage payments to idled employees and premium pay to nonexempt employees who provided emergency-related services, and will remain in effect beginning Jan. 10, 2022, with the most recent school closure due to insufficient staffing caused by COVID-19, and will remain in place through the end of the school year on May 25, 2022.
A small change to DEC(Local) also would all employees to request up to five work days per school year, which no longer have to be consecutive days. However, “discretionary use of state personal leave shall not exceed five work days per school year,” the approved policy now states.
