The Gloucester County School Board voted by a 4-3 margin to pay some non-exempt employees emergency pay for their work March 16-27. The vote came during the board’s May 12 electronic meeting.

The extra pay, an additional $10 per hour or one and a half times their regular rate of pay, whichever is higher, will go to some cafeteria and transportation staffers who worked to feed students or take items to them after the school division closed.

Gov. Ralph Northam issued a state of emergency due to COVID-19 on March 13 and ordered all public schools to close March 16-27. Ten days later, that closure was extended to the end of the school year.

Board member Troy Andersen offered the two-week period of emergency pay as an alternative to the original proposal to offer the added pay through the end of the school year. All school division fulltime employees are receiving their regular compensation while schools are closed.

Division superintendent Walter Clemons said the original propo...