GLENPOOL — It might not change the bigger-picture problem of low pay, but the surprise $1,000 bonuses handed out recently to teachers provided at least some temporary relief, not to mention a boost to morale, Glenpool school officials say.
“It’s a way for us to show our teachers, to say to them that ‘we value you and appreciate the sacrifices that you make,’” said Superintendent Jerry Olansen, who was greeted by cheers and even some tears when he announced the bonuses at a recent staff assembly.
He said the gesture was possible thanks to a four-year district effort to cut costs, which teachers and other staff members were key to helping succeed.
Non-teachers were included, too, with bus drivers, cafeteria workers and teacher’s assistants among those receiving $1,000 bonuses, as approved by the school board.
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For some of the recipients, the timing couldn’t have been better. Just the night before the bonus was announced, pre-kindergarten teacher Kristi Main was in tears, she said, worried about bills piling up.
“I was really questioning if I could continue to do this job,” said the married mother of two. With the bonus, “the pressure was taken off.”
“We’re very blessed. That money could’ve been used for anything, and they thought of us,” said Jennie Gordon, who works in maintenance and also received a bonus.
“And it was for everybody — straight across the board. It didn’t matter who you were.”
Olansen said the total amount given out in bonuses was $380,000.
He cautioned, however, that the bonuses were “a one-time thing.” While the district has tried to manage its resources well, the situation with education funding in the state clouds the future, he said.
On March 12, Glenpool joined many other area districts when its school board voted to approve a resolution “in support of Oklahoma public school teachers” and to authorize the superintendent to close schools in the event of a teacher walkout.
“This can’t continue,” Olansen said of the funding crisis.
Olansen said the district started trying to save money four years ago, when it first learned of the likelihood of drastic funding cuts.
“We were aggressive in coming up with a plan of cost-saving measures … alternative ways to save money,” Olansen said.
The first action, he said, was to cut the district’s cleaning service. Employees were called on to step in, with teachers taking out their own trash and sweeping their own floors.
They also removed appliances like heaters and refrigerators from their classrooms and reduced paper consumption. Lights and thermostats were carefully monitored.
“We all pitched in,” Martin said. “We just said ‘this is what it is.’ ”
“We asked them to trust us,” Olansen said. “We told them that the measures would help us to not have to cut jobs, or programs for our kids.”
“Slowly we built up our fund balance,” he said, adding that although there were other factors, like district growth, the measures were a big part of it.
A former teacher, Gordon said the bonuses have helped morale. The current state of education — with funding woes and fears of school violence — “wears on you,” she said. “But everyone I’ve talked to, this put a new spring in their step.”
Gordon has heard “lots of good stories” of how the money helped. One teacher she knows, who was recently widowed, was able to make a car payment she’d fallen behind on and then pay the next three months.
Olansen said he’s received many emails of gratitude from employees. “ ‘The timing was just right.’ … The money was ‘a small miracle’ — it’s been encouraging to hear” the responses, he said.
