Rochester Schools to Pay Nutritional Workers for Missed Snow Days

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester School Board is being presented with a plan to pay certain school district employees for some of the days they did not work because of the ten weather-related school cancellations that occurred over the winter months.

The Minnesota Legislature approved a bill that, for this year only, allows school districts to count the missed days as instructional days and still receive funding for a number of programs that are added to the regular per-pupil state funding formula. If the district signs up, it is required to pay all of its workers for the missed school days and the administration has determined that would cost more than what the district would receive in additional state funding.

The school district administration notes most of the district’s employees have provisions in their contracts that provide them with some income protection for the loss of pay on so-called “snow days,” but in the case of nutritional services workers and non-schedule employees that protection only covers a couple of days off work. The plan before the school board Tuesday evening calls for the two employee groups to be paid for up to 8 of the missed days at a cost of just under $150,000.

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