Richland 1 school district will give all full-time employees a retention bonus of $1,000

Richland 1 employees will be getting a bonus.

All full-time employees will receive a $1,000 bonus and all permanent, part-time employees will receive a $500 bonus, the school board voted unanimously Tuesday.

Employees will receive the first half of their payment on Friday, Dec. 17, and the remainder on or before May 31, 2022, according to board documents. The point of breaking the bonus into two payments was to give employees a part of their bonus before the winter holidays, Richland 1 Chief Operations Officer Ed Carlon said.

The bonuses are intended to entice employees to stay at the district amid a teacher shortage that is larger than at any time since the statistic was first tracked 20 years ago.

The bonuses, which will also apply to long-term substitute teachers, will cost $6 million, Carlon said.

While all school board members voted in favor of the raise, board member Beatrice King questioned whether it was necessary to give bonuses to all employees, including administrative employees, when certain positions such as bus drivers and teachers are in the highest demand.

“The way I see this is it’s a bonus for all employees, but I really want to focus on some really specific jobs that we have to put in all our efforts on retention and recruitment,” King said.

The “vast majority” of the bonuses would not be going to administrative positions, Superinendent Craig Witherspoon said.

Board member Jamie Devine defended giving a raise to all employees because it will boost morale, even in positions where there is no job shortage.

“Everybody contributes to the success of the organization,” Devine said.