SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Hourly staff at Springfield Public Schools went another summer without a paycheck.

Last year, the school board changed the pay schedule. Now, the Springfield National Education Association is petitioning for annualized pay to come back.

"I think good intentions just went down the wrong road," said Ben Brixey, a Special Education Teacher at Westport Elementary.

While the total pay comes out the same, many hourly workers say not having a regular paycheck makes it harder for them to secure loans and apply for housing.

"We love what we do and we want to keep doing what we do," said paraprofessional Madison Henry. "So we need that. We need the support in place."

In July of 2023, all hourly workers at SPS were changed to a different pay schedule where they only got paid while school was in session.

"Switching back to annual pay needs to happen," Henry said. "We've lost several employees. Several of my friends have quit. That's leaving our classrooms without support. That's leaving our teachers at a higher rate of burnout because they don't have a support team."

A community-wide petition is circulating in Springfield in hopes of reversing the change.

"It's definitely impacted the turnover rate of our support staff for sure," Brixey said.

Henry says she has thought about leaving due to the pay change.

"I needed a loan for a car this summer and wasn't eligible for it because I'm missing pay through those months," Henry said.

Workers say budgeting and saving money doesn't always work for everyone, especially those living paycheck to paycheck.

The Springfield NEA is hoping to get 3,000 signatures. Even if they do gather those signatures, there's no guarantee the board will go back to annualized pay.

SPS has said in the past it made the change to annualized pay based on the recommendation of its auditors and was committed to working with employees on an individual basis as issues arise.

News Source : https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/weve-lost-several-employees-petition-circulating-to-revert-sps-staff-back-to-annualized-pay/