NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jefferson Parish public school teachers will get a $600 bonus this school year, while most other employees will get a $500 bonus.
The school board action Wednesday makes use of $24.5 million in BP settlement money from damages caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune’s Jessica Williams reports that $4.2 million will go to the bonuses, $4.5 million will go to long-term retirement costs and $15.8 million will be saved for a rainy day.
Laura Harper, a retired Jefferson Federation of Teachers representative, said the money would address long-time inequities, specifically for support personnel.
Harper says the last salary increase for employees was 10 years ago.
School board member Marion Bonura says the plan does not create recurring costs to the system.
