Unexpected bonus bucks

North Idaho College employees will see unexpected, one-time bumps on their next paychecks.

Surprise bonuses of $200 for part-time workers and $400 for those in full-time positions have been included in this pay cycle. Some employees with direct deposit are already seeing their bonus bucks, said NIC Interim President Michael Sebaaly.

Sebaaly said the funds used to pay the bonuses were "salary salvage."

"That was salary that was approved from the budget from last year," Sebaaly said. "It was pre-approved by the board for salaries in the current fiscal budget that’s ending at the end of June."

The funds were unused because positions were vacant or not filled, he said.

Employees receiving the bonuses were notified Thursday by email, Sebaaly said, but he could not say how many employees NIC has at this time or how many bonuses were distributed.

NIC had 1,020 employees when the college’s annual facts and information brochure was released earlier this year and published on nic.com. This included 496 full-time faculty and staff members and 173 part-time faculty and staff. The college also had 270 part-time classified employees, including an undisclosed number of work-study student employees who did not receive the bonuses.

"The president's cabinet was pleased and appreciative of the work that our employees have done this year. We wanted to show that to them," Sebaaly said. "We have found a number of different ways to appreciate our employees this year and this is an example of that."

NIC board Vice Chair John Goedde, who was not on the board when the budget was approved, shared the sentiment.

"It is good to reward staff for enduring the extra stress COVID and uncertainty has caused them while staying within budget constraints," Goedde said.