Fox C-6 School District employees will continue to receive paychecks during the coronavirus school closure, at least for now.
“At this time, we are committed to paying salaries due to COVID-19,” Fox Superintendent Nisha Patel said. “However, we will continue to evaluate that decision based on long-term financial implications. As a district, we were already in a fragile but stable financial condition before the pandemic, and we depend heavily on state aid for funding, which can potentially put us in a position to make some tough decisions for the long run.”
Fox, along with other Jefferson County school districts, closed March 18 because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Most of the districts are expected to remain closed at least until April 27.
Patel said she and Fox Board of Education members discussed the issue of paying employees on March 17. However, a formal board vote was not held on the matter.
“The sentiment from all of the board members was we want to make sure we take care of our staff,” she said. “A lot of (employees) depend on us to provide them with their family income. We want to make sure we provide for our families, just like we provide for our students.”
Fox has 1,921 employees, including coaches and part-time employees, and all will be paid during the closure, said Kelly Bracht, assistant superintendent in charge of human resources.
Employees are expected to work from home and be on call to come in during the closure if needed, she said.
Contracted employees, including administrators, teachers, nurses, therapists, social workers, diagnosticians, behavior specialists and other-job specific professionals, like technology staff employees, will receive their normal pay during the closure.
Teachers are providing online instruction for students.
Teaching assistants, aides, food service, transportation and full-time Character Kids Club staff members will be paid at their regular rate based on their normal work schedule, the district reported.
District secretaries will work with their supervisors regarding the work they need to complete from home and are considered to be on-call employees.
Employees who work 260 days during a calendar year may be notified or called in to work on a day when school has been canceled. Those employees include most Fox administrators, not including middle and elementary school assistant principals, along with certain secretaries, office staff, custodians, maintenance and technology staff, Bracht said.
If those employees are not called into work, they are expected to be on-call or available to work from home throughout the day as needed, at their supervisors' discretion, according to the district.
Substitute teachers who work on a per diem basis will not be paid. However, long-term substitute teachers who are subbing for teachers who are out on long-term leave are expected to continue providing instruction and learning opportunities while the district is closed. Those long-term substitute teachers will be paid for their time and the days the district is closed due to COVID-19 will count towards their days of work, the district reported.
JP Prezzavento, Fox’s communication and instructional technology coordinator, said all district offices are closed, along with the schools. However, Fox custodial staff members are working during the closure to disinfect all the district’s buildings.
He said all other employees working during the closure are working from home.
