MCISD raises employee stipends

The Madisonville CISD board approved a resolution that would increase pay stipends for employees working certain extracurricular activities, including driving busses to events, at their monthly meeting for April Monday.

“In the history of Madisonville, at least in the 30 years I have been here, we have never been in a district where we are going almost all the way to the Louisiana border and all the way to central Texas and Waco,” said Superintendent Keith Smith, referencing the longer trips required since the district realignment. “It is taxing on (Durham School Services). They are having a hard time providing us with reliable transportation on our trip busses.”

Largely due to the longer trips, the district has had trouble with maintenance on their extracurricular trip busses. This problem is exclusive to these trips and unrelated to standard pickup and dropoff trips.

“We are visiting with Durham about it,” said Smith. “It is very frustrating. Our first priority before we educate a child is keeping them safe and healthy. Having busses that aren’t reliable becomes, in my opinion, a safety issue.”

The approved resolution will include a pay increase for the individuals driving the busses to accommodate the longer trips.

Smith also stated the district will go out for bids on their transportation contract when their agreement with Durham expires at the end of the 2022 school year.

Stipends have also been raised for employees working positions at school sporting events.

At the start of the meeting, the board viewed a virtual presentation from the like skills class detailing their planned celebration for Autism Awareness Week, which lasts April 19-23. The class will launch a student-designed website, United In Uniqueness, which will provide daily students announcements. They will also host a bake sale and participate in a daily walk with a goal of reaching five kilometers by the end of the week.

SPED teacher Suzanne Smith stated in the video that part of the goal is to show autism is not a disability, but a different ability.

“Autism is not a choice, however, acceptance is,” said Smith.