“Thank you” cards with checks that were distributed to Arp ISD staff.

Hugs and feelings of gratitude filled the halls of Arp ISD on Thursday as Superintendent Shannon Arrington, campus principals and school board members handed out “thank you” cards with money to staff members.

No one was left unnoticed in the campus halls, as each Arp ISD staff member was approached by a district employee and given a $750 check.

“Please keep in mind that what you find inside is not near enough recognition for being an Arp Tiger,” Arrington told all employees.

Arrington said the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant strain on employees and he’s thankful for the Arp ISD family for all they’ve done.

“The past 21 months the things that we’ve asked them to do over this global pandemic, this time period, it’s been a struggle for all of us,” he said. “And to watch them put in this herculean effort that they put in, all of our folks, we’re so blessed here at Arp ISD and it was certainly worth seeing their faces today, for sure.”

The district said the checks were given with the additional funds available from the American Rescue Plan known as ESSER III COVID relief funds. The board approved the decision after Arp ISD administration presented the district’s board of trustees with a plan to use a small percentage of the money for the Arp ISD retention incentive this year, which is attempted to be given every year for employees.

Arrington showed gratitude toward the school board and mentioned how this moment of appreciation has been in the works since the beginning of the year.

“I want to thank our school board, obviously they had a huge hand in this but everybody involved, all the administrators. We began talking about this in the spring because we knew all the effort that has gone into what we’ve asked them to do,” Arrington said.

He also mentioned that for the past few years the district has successfully budgeted additional incentive pay for all Arp ISD employees, which is traditionally given out in November and also smaller than what was given this year.