$1K Bonus For School Employees Announced In Anne Arundel County

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Anne Arundel County Public Schools employees will get a $1,000 employee appreciation bonus in December.

AACPS Superintendent Mark Bedell announced the news Wednesday, noting that the bonuses have the full backing of the Board of Education.

The bonus will be pro-rated based on a worker's full-time equivalency. AACPS will deliver the bonus to all permanent employees except those on a leave of absence by Dec. 16.

Bedell said he will not accept the bonus.

“No school system can be great without great people,” Bedell wrote in a letter to AACPS staff. “As I have said before, the work you are doing in the face of some stiff challenges is incredible. No matter your role in our school system, our students benefit every day from your dedication and passion. Please don’t ever forget that.”

AACPS will pay the bonuses from the money it saved from the vacancies across the school system. Bedell did not need to ask for extra money to cover the bonuses.

The superintendent also told workers that health care premiums will not be deducted from their pay on Dec. 28 because of AACPS's balance in its health care fund.

Bedell additionally let employees work from home on Nov. 22 while students were off for fall break.

“I fully realize that the bonus is a small gesture of appreciation,” Bedell said in his letter. “However, it is critically important to me and to the Board of Education that we continue to find ways to simply say ‘Thank You.’”