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The Stanly County Board of Education unanimously passed changes to the contract Stanly County Schools has with the ESS staffing company.

Dustin Lisk, chair of the SCS Finance Committee, gave a report to the board while presenting two addenda to the contract with ESS.

One addendum removes language which required SCS as the local education agency (LEA) to pay ESS when “hiring employees for services which are provided by (ESS).” The amount of the pay was “equal to the daily or hourly markup.”

Instead, the contract now reads SCS will provide written notice at least 30 days ahead of hiring an ESS employee.

The other addendum says if SCS “engages the services of a substitute staff other than through the company,” the school system will “provide (ESS) at least 30 days written notice of intent prior to hiring (ESS) employees.”

According to Lisk, the contract had a non-solicit clause of 12 months after the fiscal year end, which he said could have been interpreted “that SCS can not hire ESS teacher assistants and subs to start the next school year.”

Lisk said he was assured the non-solicit clause dealt only with ESS corporate staff.

The board previously addressed issues concerning ESS hiring SCS personnel.