California schools weigh using COVID relief for teacher bonuses — or trip to Hawaii

“…Some California school districts are weighing using COVID-19 relief funds for faculty bonuses — with one teacher’s association joking that the money be put towards a trip to Hawaii, internal memos revealed.

The memos, which were shared by the group Reopen California Schools, show several districts discussing how to allocate state and federal relief payments intended to help them return to in-person classes.

“I’ve been inundated with reports of school districts spending state and federal COVID relief money on substantial one-time bonuses to teachers and administrators instead of spending them on getting kids back in classrooms or to curb learning loss,” the group wrote on Twitter.

One leaked email obtained by the group revealed that a committee at Clovis Unified School District reportedly discussed giving out $6,000 bonuses.

The district reportedly suggested using relief funds to give “one-time payment to employees … given the extraordinary effort required of every employee over the course of the pandemic.”…”