Original title: multi-states in the United States used government benefits as teachers' bonuses caused controversy: CCTV news client
On July 18, local time, according to US media reports, dozens of school districts and states in the United States are using a large amount of federal benefits as teacher bonuses, despite the opposition of some parents and other social groups, giving large one-time bonuses to teachers and school staff. Opponents say this violates the intention of federal funding.
Several school districts in Tennessee, Texas, California and Colorado, as well as Georgia, have approved four-figure "thank you" bonuses for teachers. These school districts and states say this is to prevent teachers from resigning and boost staff morale and return to face-to-face teaching after the outbreak.
Georgia was the first state to take action, handing out bonuses of $1000 each to 230000 school employees, covering almost all teachers and staff, including assistants, administrators, bus drivers and cafeteria staff. The move totaled $230 million, accounting for about 35% of the state's $660 million in federal epidemic relief and one of the largest expenditures allocated by the state.
States such as Florida and Hawaii rejected proposals to provide one-off bonuses to teachers. Hawaii Governor David Iger this month vetoed a bill proposing a $2200 bonus for each teacher, saying that allocating the money to teacher salaries was not in line with federal guidelines and said he had no plans to seek other ways to pay additional bonuses to teachers.
Marguerite Roza, director of Georgetown University's economics of education laboratory, says bonuses with no strings attached are often wrong, meaning the school misses the opportunity to fund more tangible improvement programmes. "they could have improved the system or filled loopholes in the system to ensure teacher retention next year," Roza said. Otherwise, it feels like a policy that is good for teachers rather than students. " (CCTV reporter Yin Yue)
(editor Xu Qian)