School Board Discusses Richmond County Furlough Days
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School Board Discusses Richmond County Furlough...
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It’s the “F” word no one wants to hear…Furloughs. Some staff and bus drivers are already seeing their furlough days coming from their paycheck, but no decision was every made on when they could take their furlough days, until Monday evening. It was the top discussion at a Richmond County Board of Education meeting. WJBF News Channel 6’s Barclay Bishop has more.
Published: October 5, 2009
Updated: October 6, 2009
Augusta, GA—Dr. Dana Bedden, Richmond County Board of Education (RCBOE) Superintendent: “This is compensation for lost wages that they have not received already.“
A unanimous vote, and the motion passed. Monday evening, the RCBOE decided how to give certified staff and counselors their 5 furlough days without cutting the school year short.
October 20th and November 10th will both be half days. October 21st, January 19th, and February 15th will be furloughs. But, it may not be over quite yet.
Dr. Bedden: “Legislative body will go back in January and we could be hit again, which means that we could, in fact, if we get hit again, be at the point where we would have to institute layoffs.“
Dr. Cheryl Willis, school counselor: “We’re hoping that the Governor and the Legislature, when they meet in January will find a way to not lay off our teachers because our students need our teachers.“
And, students need transportation. Bus drivers got 4 furlough days, none of which can be used, because otherwise children wouldn’t get to school.
Dr. Bedden: “We do pay almost twice as much as the state requirement. Does that make it right? That’s not what I’m saying, but we’re all trying to survive this recession, this financial challenge together.“
A challenge that Dr. Bedden says, after losing $74 million in the budget over 3 years, they’re ready to face.
Dr. Bedden: “We’re going to do our best to make sure that we can provide relief to them as we can figure out how to navigate the system. I think we’re getting to the point where you can see that we’re getting closer and closer to being fair as possible to everyone.“
Dr. Bedden says they are still trying to find other ways to relieve bus drivers, but right now they have no other option. We did the calculations and by giving those certified staff members 5 furlough days, not including the bus drivers, they’re saving about 58 jobs.
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