By David Fleet
Editor
Goodrich-On Dec. 20, the board of education moved forward with retention funds for all teachers and staff from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund III.
“This is not a bonus,” said Wayne Wright, district superintendent. “Rather, it’s a retention incentive for those working on through June 30, 2022.”
The amount of the funds are based on a graduated scale, said Wright.
“There’s a need for it, district employees have been working extremely hard,” he said. “They have gone through many situations we did not want them to go through. Several area districts are doing the same.”
The ESSER Fund is part of the United States Education Department’s Educational Stabilization Fund Program which awards grants to State educational agencies for the purpose of providing local educational agencies with emergency funds to address the impact of COVID-19 on elementary and secondary schools.
“Turnover in the district is still high,” he said.
According to the recent audit, the district ended the 2020-21 fiscal year with a general fund balance of 18 percent or $3,781,456 up from $2,593,476 a 45 percent increase from the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Part of the increase in funds were from the ESSER funds. The state average for general fund balance is about 15-20 percent, a range for districts about the same size as Goodrich, about two to three months of expenditures.