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LUMBERTON — Eligible Public Schools of Robeson County employees are to receive $1,000 bonuses as a result of PSRC Board of Education members’ approval in the Nov. 10 meeting.

The bonuses will be applied to permanent and full-time employees who work four or more hours per day. The bonuses will be split into two $500 payments.

The funding will come from the federal Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund III (ESSER III) at an estimated cost of $3,800,000.

"The maximum any employee can receive in December and June is $500 for each payment,” according to PSRC Chief Finance Officer Erica Setzer.

“Employees must be in pay status on Dec. 15 to qualify for any portion of the first half of the stipend,” Setzer said.

Bus drivers with a regular route who work less than four hours each day are an exception, Setzer said. Those employees will be eligible for $200 in December and $200 in June.

“This does not include substitute drivers,” she said.

PSRC Board of Education Chairman John Simmons said the bonus is a token of appreciation to educators.

Simmons said he recognizes teachers’ need for additional support and that he has engaged in conversations to advocate for more support.

“This is a great gift that we are gonna give our teachers and we thank God for that,” he said. “To our teachers, this is just a small token of what we can give you but we do appreciate you a whole lot more.”

This is the third year that PSRC employees will be receiving bonuses as part of ESSER Funding. The total cost of bonuses applied from ESSER II funds for the 2021-2022 school year was $3,598,997.64 and in the 2020-21 school year the amount totaled $3,426,668.21.