Section 4 of the Education Freedom Act, colloquially known as the School Voucher Bill, was approved during Thursday’s Cumberland County School Board meeting last week in a vote 7 to 1. This section of the education freedom act that was approved allows the state to provide teachers with a one-time $2,000 bonus that will not impact the board’s budget.

The only board member voting against was 1st district’s Elizabeth Stull, who said she wanted to “have full clarification on what the state is going to decide who actually gets the funds.”

Some of the language in the section was deemed confusing by some board members as well as by School Attorney Chris W. McCarty, as there are many variations of what can be considered teachers in the Cumberland County Public School system. Would this section include staff such as librarians, substitutes, and guidance counselors?

Director of Schools William Stepp said requests asking for clarification about who, in total, will receive the money have been sent out.

The only board member not present at the meeting was the 5th district’s Nicholas Davis.