The Fredericksburg City Council has approved a budget amendment to fund bonuses to retain teachers in public schools.
The amendment to the city's Fiscal Year 2022 budget approves reimbursements received by the Fredericksburg City Public School system, which will come from Medicaid, state taxes, and the Virginia Department of Education.
Each eligible permanent employee received a bonus from a collective pot of $700,000, and those who work a five-day-a-week schedule will receive $1,000. Those who work on a schedule of fewer than five days a week will receive $500.
The retention bonuses were distributed in June to all permanent employees of the Fredericksburg City Public School system who signed contracts to work for the 2022-2023 school year. Information provided by city staff defines a permanent employee as one who works either a regular five-day schedule or less than five days a week and receives a semi-monthly paycheck.
The city's report on the item shows that only $550,000 in retention bonuses have been awarded due to resignations at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
The funding came from three sources: $266,000 from Medicaid reimbursements for school health services, $160,000 from reimbursements from the Virginia Department of Education's Students with Intensive Needs program, and $274,000 from additional state sales taxes.
The request for this amendment came from the city's school system after its school board amended its budget to allow for the bonuses at its June 6 meeting.
Fredericksburg incurred no costs by approving this budget amendment.
