Calcasieu Parish School Board employees will receive several salary supplements in September, October and November.

The Board approved employee supplements at the board meeting on Tuesday.

Louisiana school districts must expend the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds by the end of the month. CPSB elected to provide two pay supplements to employees.

“Our goal here is to send back zero (funds),” said Superintendent Jason VanMetre at the meeting.

Qualifying teachers at 15 hard-to-staff schools will receive the $5,500 ESSER recruitment/retention of certified staff stipend. This stipend — a total gross amount of $11,000 — was introduced during the 2023-24 school year to incentivize teachers to commit to staying at identified schools two to three years.

Campuses included are Barbe, Brentwood, College Oaks, Combre-Fondel, Fairview, Henry Heights, J.J. Johnson, Oak Park, Pearl Watson, Ralph Wilson and TH Watkins elementary schools; Oak Park and Molo middle schools; and LaGrange, Washington-Marion high schools.

These schools were determined using school performance scores, comprehensive intervention required statuses and the “hard to staff” designation that is based on the number of certified teachers at the school.

The remaining ESSER funds will be distributed as $1,325 stipends for teachers and $925 for support staff.

The ESSER stipends will be on September paychecks. This is the last year that teachers will receive ESSER stipends.

“Both of those, since they’re ESSER, those are no more,” said VanMetre

The sales tax supplement will be determined and approved at the board meeting in October and will appear on that month’s paychecks.

The yearly COMPASS teacher evaluation stipends will be distributed in November, along with the state-allocated supplement of $2,000 teachers and $1,000 for support staff.

Teachers determined “highly effective” during the 2023-24 school year will also receive a $350 supplement on the November check.