MONROE — At its meeting April 13, the School District of Monroe approved paying the staff its full compensation during the school closure for the rest of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

April 16, Gov. Tony Evers announced that schools would stay closed for the rest of the school year and extended the “Safer at Home” order through May 26. 

The board voted unanimously to approve the continuation of paying the staff. Mary Berger was present for the closed session discussion, but because of technology issues was absent for the vote; Rich Deprez abstained. 

Nearly all board members showed support during a short discussion after the closed session. 

Board President Dan Bartholf said part of the reason he was in favor of continuing to pay staff members because they are still expected to contribute in some ways. 

Not paying the hourly staff, who are the lowest compensated workers and account for more than 200 people that fill both full- and part-time positions, could save the district $660,000, which is about 1.18% of the school’s budget, Business Manager Ron Olson said. 

However, the reality of the “soft costs” fell into play and the possibility of losing people in the long term is impossible to put a number on, he said.

“Unemployment is different here than in the private sector,” Olson said, noting that as a government entity, the school doesn’t pay into unemployment insurance. Instead, when someone claims unemployment against the school, they reimburse the state. That could mean significantly less savings for the district if they were to lay off employees.

“There are more costs than just numbers if we don’t take care of our people right now,” board member Nikki Matley said.

Olson said that if employees were laid off, they could collect unemployment all summer, and that brings forth the possibility of losing more dollars than they could save. 

Although it’s hard to gauge some positions and their duties in comparison to others, Waski said if people have concerns, they should go to their direct supervisor.

“The reality is, there’s no manual for this,” Waski said. “It’s very likely people are going to be asked to do something that doesn’t match their job description.”

Waski said they’re doing their best to “be fair,” but admitted that what some contribute compared to others won’t always be equal. 

“All of our staff has been working diligently in areas that are new to them,” Waski said. “For many, some of the technology is new.”

However, Waski said the district’s seen “healthy attitudes” from both teachers and staff. He said if they didn’t compensate the staff during this time, he would worry about retention and the long-term impact as a district. 

Their work will continue to be monitored, Waski said, to be sure staff members are being used to their full potential. He said the district hopes to become “more purposeful” in using them. 

Olson said he reached out to Badger Conference schools and said the majority they heard from are continuing with staff compensation. 

“I just think it’s the right thing to do,” board member Jim Plourde said.

For professional staff, including teachers, contracts are in place. 

In other matters, the board:

Approved a request be sent to the Department of Public Instruction to waive the requirements for hours of instruction. A public hearing was held prior to the board meeting; no members of the public were in attendance.

Approved an agreement with Lamers Bus Lines to continue to pay 75% of the remaining transportation costs for the remainder of the school year. Cheryl McGuire voted against the motion, hoping to address it later in the meeting. Olson said Lamers originally asked for 81% compensation, but after researching, he suggested a lesser amount to help cover pay for drivers and other operating expenses. He said most districts in Wisconsin were paying between 70 to 100% and some of the funds could eventually be covered federally. If Lamers ends up receiving some aid, Olson said the school district would be credited. 

Approved the purchase of two floor-scrubbing machines for $24,999.95 that will come out of the long-term maintenance budget. Machines are expected to run more than 10 years. 

Approved an amendment to the 403B plan for employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This allows employees to withdraw from their 403B without a penalty if needed; however, they will be taxed on any withdrawals.  

Approved to pay spring sports coaches and advisors 50% of their pay if the season is canceled due to the amount of prep work already completed.