ROCK SPRINGS — The Sweetwater County School District (SCSD) No. 1 Board of Trustees voted 4-0 to approve a one-time Workforce Stabilization incentive for eligible employees during its meeting Monday night.

Chairwoman Carol Jelaco and Trustees Stephanie Thompson, Andrea Summers, and Anjelica Wood were in attendance at the meeting, while Trustees Cole Wright, Danielle Schumacher, and Kari Cochran were absent.

The one-time payment comes in the form of a payroll run on January 25, 2024, and is funded through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III American Rescue Plan (ARP) grant and the Head Start grant.

SCSD No. 1 Superintendent Kelly McGovern said this incentive is part of a recruitment and retention strategy, and is one of the outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is provided to thank employees, it is also a process the District uses to hire people and keep quality staff, she said.

For all eligible employees, the gross amount will be based on $1,000, plus an additional amount to be determined for each year of service as noted by an employee’s most recent first day of work for their permanent position. The Workforce Stabilization incentive is also subject to required payroll taxes and Federal income tax withholding.

McGovern said they do not have the additional amounts of the incentive allocated yet, as they wait to see how the grants are doing each year.

To be eligible for the one-time payment, employees must meet all of the following requirements:

• Be either full time or part time as of August 25, 2023
• Have completed their first day of employment on or before August 25, 2023
• Have worked through January 18, 2024 without a break in service since August 25, 2023

Long-term substitutes serving in full-time classroom teaching positions, which are teaching positions the District has been unable to fill, are eligible to receive a one-time payment of $500 if they meet the following requirements.

• Be full time as of August 25, 2023
• Have completed their first day of employment on or before August 25, 2023
• Have worked through January 18, 2024 without a break in service since August 25, 2023

Contracted staffing, substitutes not serving in full-time classroom teaching positions the District has been unable to fill, coaches and sponsors not serving as a full-time or part-time employees, and temporary employees are not eligible for the incentive.

Other Business

The Board unanimously approved for district employees utilizing the district’s daycare to be able to add the payments to the list of deductions from payroll. This means employees would have the option of direct deposit of their payroll checks for their daycare payments.

“We’re trying to make it easy for people,” Chairwoman Jelaco said. However, she noted that this is only an option and employees will not be forced to do this.

The Board also unanimously approved waiving the District Daycare Rates for the month of September 2023 to allow for employees to receive a paycheck before daycare rates are due. Rates for the month of August will be due by Tuesday, September 12. Then, beginning in October the daycare payments will be due by the fifth of each month.

According to meeting documents, costs will be funded by grant funds.