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Some Guilford County Schools Workers Will See Pay Raise During COVID-19 Pandemic

KERI BROWN/WFDD

Some Guilford County Schools employees who are providing critical services during the coronavirus pandemic will soon see a pay increase. 

The pay hike will apply to hourly workers who provide on-site child care or who prepare and deliver meals. Those employees will be paid time and a half beginning April 1.

According to a news release, over 65 percent of GCS students meet the criteria for free or reduced-price meals. On a typical day, that might have meant 1,000 meals. Since schools closed in mid-March, the district has served up to 29,000 emergency meals per day.

In addition, some after-school staff, teacher assistants, and custodial workers are providing child care for hospital workers and emergency personnel.  

The pay increase is scheduled to last through April 30, but could be extended depending on the pandemic's impact in Guilford County.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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