The Pulaski County Special School District met on Tuesday night and voted 5-0 to give additional compensation to teachers and other district employees due to the ongoing pandemic.

Teachers on a 190-day, or standard, contract, could get up to $2,380.70 for working in the 2020-21 school year. Employees on longer contracts would receive more.

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The money will be paid from federal funds from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

The district also handed out Inspiration in Education Awards

The quarterly awards are for a district employee, who “is an inspiration to those around them in all areas of the job.”

The fourth quarter award went to Amber Abbott, who is a nurse for the school district and works at multiple campuses and is known as a floater.

The third quarter award went to Traci Matthews, a teacher librarian at Maumelle Middle School and the second quarter award was to Britney Hickman, an assistant principal at Sylvan Hills Elementary, while the first quarter award was for Juanita Croon, the district’s IT helpdesk manager

In the nomination, Matthews was described as a “true asset” and “Matthews is a true team player and works hard,” said Christie Bingenheimer, a teacher at Maumelle Middle. “She provides great resources for teachers and students and will drop all she is doing just to help others.”

Award winners were nominated by their colleagues and selected by the district superintendent’s cabinet.