HARVEY- Before the end of the school year, teachers and staff will see a small bump in their pay.
Tuesday night, Jefferson Parish School Board Members unanimously voted to pass a motion that will give them stipends.
"The stipend is designed to try to bridge the gap between where we are today and where we want to be after a millage. And at the same time get some very important training out there to reinsure students and parents the efforts we're putting into the safety of our campuses," Mark C. Morgan, President of the Jefferson Parish School Board said.
The one-time stipend provides staff with Credit Threat Safety Training in the event of an emergency.
Teachers will get a three-part training session and a $2,000 stipend.
Para Professionals will get a two-part training session and a $1,200 stipend.
Support Staff will have a one-part training session and receive $500.
New Jefferson Parish School Superintendent Cade Brumley says this not only ensures safety in schools, but shows teachers they want them around.
"This is a time of the year when people are making career decisions, and the more that we can signal to our employees that we value them, we'll have a great chance of retaining our high quality employees as well as being able to recruit moving into the next school year," Brumley said.
The board also passed a resolution to discuss a pay raise millage. Last November, a millage proposal failed by 484 votes.
While many who attended the board meeting say they are happy about this proactive move, staff members say it's getting harder to make ends meet.
"We're doing more with less. Less everyday," teacher Susan Nugent said.
"I love the kids at my school. I really do. And I want to stay here. But in order to have that, I've got to have a little bit of better pay," one man said.
Cathy Johnson, president of the Jefferson Federation of teachers, says educators want a permanent raise. She says the district is losing great teachers to other districts offering up more money.
"We also have trouble recruiting because our salaries are the lowest in the eight surrounding parishes, ours is the lowest," Johnson said.