Stimulus update: One-time $1,500 bonus checks arriving in five days for Arkansas teachers
Asher Notheis
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Some teachers in the Fort Smith School District of Arkansas will be given a one-time bonus check of $1,500 in less than a week, just ahead of Christmas.
The bonus check is intended to provide relief to veteran teachers who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic and will be paid out of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief budget. The payments were approved in May by the school board and are set to be delivered by Dec. 15, according to Talk Business.
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The bonuses will only be given to a handful of teachers in the school system. However, adult education teachers, classroom teachers, instructional specialists, interventionists, and special education coordinators all qualify for the bonus.
Principals and assistant principals also qualify for the bonus, though district-level administrators do not.
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The school board approved a new salary schedule, which includes annual salary raises, providing veteran teachers with a lower raise than new teachers. The average raise was $3,471.81, a 5.89% pay increase for the current school year.
The payments come as inflation across the United States remains high amid the busy holiday shopping season.