The North Fayette Valley school board met for a special meeting on Wednesday, March 18 at the North Fayette Valley high school. Just three days into the statewide school shut down, the members voted to continue paying hourly employees during the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. (Megan Molseed photo)
NFV board meets to discuss pay during unprecedented nationwide school shutdown
By Megan Molseed
mmolseed@thefayettecountyunion.com
The North Fayette Valley school board met for a special session in the high school cafeteria on Wednesday, March 18.
The meeting was scheduled for the purpose of discussing a variety of topics surrounded by the district’s cancelation of classes in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are all in uncharted waters here,” said North Fayette Valley superintendent, Duane Willhite at the start of the meeting. “We want to make sure everyone, our kids, our families, our faculty and staff, are safe. “
With the guidelines for safe social distancing already in place, the school board, many attended the meeting remotely, via Zoom, and school nurse, Stephanie Wagner, was on-hand to screen those who attended in person.
“We were asked to monitor the temperatures of each person who comes through the door, and keep a log of visitors,” said Wagner, adding that the log was intended to keep the meeting to the recommended number of attendees, no more than ten, a guideline set by the Iowa Department of Public Health. “Once we have 10 people logged in, we can’t let anymore in until someone leaves.”
First item on the agenda was approving the calendar change to account for the 30-day school closure experienced statewide in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This will take us right up to April 13,” noted Willhite. “It is one of the days we had calendared in for Easter break, but it’s a perfect time to start back up.”
The board approved the change, setting the return date at April 13, should returning to the classroom be recommended at the end of the 30 days.
“Of course, this is all new to everyone, and if it is recommended we stay closed beyond this initial 30 days, we will have to reevaluate at that time,” said Willhite.
Next, the school board addressed paying school employees during the shut down.
“Our certified staff are working on professional development opportunities during this time, and are keeping in regular contact with their students,” noted Willhite. “We anticipate enough work to last through this shutdown to continue paying them as planned during this layoff.”
The board then addressed hourly employees, and whether or not those paid hourly by the district will be receiving regular pay during the shutdown.
“We are in uncharted territory here,” said NFV school board member, Eileen Schlawin. “People are scared and we need to be there for them, not take away their income.”
