The Poplar Bluff R-I school board denied a request Thursday for an adjustment to the essential employee pay rate during the COVID-19 closure.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Dr. Amy Jackson brought the request with the support of Dr. Scott Dill, superintendent. It requested the ability to “compensate our essential employees at a rate of 20% above their hourly rate,” according to board documents.
During the closure, which is scheduled to end April 6 but could be extended, only essential employees who are well and do not need to attend to dependent care are coming to the district for work.
“This is standard operating procedures for other districts and schools that have sent employees home, but yet had to have essential employees working and carrying on day-to-day activities that are necessary,” Jackson said.
According to Jackson, other districts typically approve between 20-40% in these situations.
According to the board documents, there’s a few individuals working full time and approximately 20 essential employees working on an as-needed basis.
Jackson estimated the cost based on an average of 30 hours a week and an hourly rate of $15.75. For three weeks, there would be an approximated cost of $5,700 for the district.
During conversations at the board meeting, members expressed concern and confusion over the necessity for the request.
“Private business, everybody’s out there happy to have a job and getting a paycheck,” Board member Jerrod Murphy said. “A lot of people are out on the street with nothing and they’re going to their normal job, I just don’t understand the concept.”
“We have to go to work, not compensated anything extra and if you go home it’s on your dime,” Board member Roger Hanner agreed.
Dill explained the thought process behind the recommendation. The district needs these employees to come to work, he said, but there’s no incentive for them if they could be at home making the same amount.
“The thought process is, if we shut the district down and everybody went home, but we had to drag some people back and essentially put them in harm’s way,” Dill said. “…They could say ‘no, I’m not coming in. Everybody else is at home. I’m going home too. I’m not going to risk exposing myself for the same salary I’m getting right now.’ … It is one of those things where it is a little strange, but this is a strange time.”
“Their assignment right now is to stay home,” Dill said.
One of the main questions asked was whether these employees are working fewer hours then normal to which Jackson responded yes. Dill said they’re working more hours than they would be sitting at home.
“My people … they’re working the hours they have to work in order to get the job done,” Jackson said. “They are doing work from home that they can do from home and that wouldn’t be compensated.”
Most of these employees, Dill said, are working with social distancing the best they can, but in some instances, that’s not possible. Some of the employees are in the central office, interacting with others who are delivering packages or other necessary situations such as filing payroll.
“If you’re digging a hole to pull up a busted pipe, you’re in there with another guy shoulder-to-shoulder,” he said.
Most district employees are at home on paid leave, earning what they normally would, Dill said. This compensation would only be for hours the essential employees have to work outside of their homes. Dill said the district didn’t want to create a financial hardship for these employees on top of concern over the virus.
To send them home without the normal pay, he said, those employees would still have to pay their bills and would need to get a job with another employer or receiving unemployment. However, when school comes back in session, Dill said, he needs them to come back.
It’s basically hazard pay, Murphy said to which Dill agreed.
“There’s people out on the street right now that’s getting zero paycheck because they want to work, but they can’t and we’re saying ‘we’re going to pay you to stay home, but if you do come to work we’re going to pay you extra.’” Murphy said. “I just don’t know. I hate to sound heartless, but I see the other side of this. I don’t think we’re putting anybody in harm’s way. That’s my opinion. Hazard pay would be if you’re at the hospital.”
Board member Alana Robertson made a motion to approve the request, which did not get a second by Board President John Scott asked.
“Before we move on from this, and I’ll respect what the board wants, but I’ll have a ghost ship tomorrow,” Dill said. “I will not be operational tomorrow. We’ve said ‘We know we’re asking you above and beyond what we’re asking other folks to do.’ We never promised a specific dollar amount or anything, but I let them know that I’d try to make this right because the question is ‘what am I doing here when you’ve sent everybody else to the house?’ We all work in fields where we’re out there anyway.
“I understand the concerns of the board here, but if this is the way it goes down I want you to understand that I’m going to have a very difficult time running this school district by myself.”
A move to increase any salary requires board approval, Dill explained in response to why he brought the issue up if that’s the case.
Scott asked again for a second of the motion, which he did not receive.
In other discussions about COVID-19, Dill brought up the meal program the district is currently offering at nine locations around town for anybody under the age of 18. On Thursday, the district handed out 814 breakfast and lunch meals.
Dill said the administration discussed and assessed the need. Starting Tuesday, it plans to deliver these meals through an adjusted bus route, but some details are still being worked out.
As far as prom, graduation and other large events scheduled for the rest of the year, Dill said he doesn’t want to change anything with them as of right now.
Prom is currently scheduled for April 25 and graduation for May 21. For now, those dates stand, but Dill said they may need to change.
He did say that, if at all possible, he wants to make sure the students still have those experiences.
“We may have graduation in a month that starts with J, but we intend to have it,” he said.
As for when the closures would end, Dill said the situation hasn’t improved and arguably has come worse since the first decision was made. He’ll be in contact with other area superintendents today to discuss the possibility of extending the closure.
“My instinct is that we’ll be locked down for a while longer,” Dill said.