JCSD1 Looking at Cutting Stipends to Save Funds

The Johnson County School District #1 Board of Trustees is considering a plan from Superintendent Jim Wagner to cut expenses through doing away with stipends for district personnel due to what is believed will be major cuts coming in the coming years.

Stipends are paid to those coaches, teachers, and others who are paid for extracurricular activities that aren’t happening due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

Wagner wants to halt those stipend payments, and explained to the board why at their meeting Monday night.

Wagner cited projections of 10 to 15% unemployment locally and nationally, the downsizing of the number of students in the district that is likely to come from this, and the subsequent loss of funding from the state from reduced student numbers as reasons to look at cutting expenses now or having to lose teachers or other staff in the coming school years.

During discussions, no board members wanted to get rid of stipends, but agreed that paying them for services that aren’t being performed doesn’t make sense, and they understood it may become necessary to use the funds in other areas.

Although they didn’t have an official vote on the issue, there was a general agreement between board members to suspend the stipend payments.