District aims to hire 50 to aid in school reopenings

The Marietta City School System hopes to hire 50 people to help streamline certain district operations during the pandemic.

The system has received a grant from WorkSource Cobb to hire people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. These full-time workers will help take the temperatures of children before they board the school bus or enter the building, Superintendent Grant Rivera said.

The pay is $12 an hour, and the work schedule will be from 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the school district said. Residents can apply for the positions on the system’s website at marietta.tedk12.com.

Once they are done with the morning bus routes, Rivera also said the workers will help deliver meals to students throughout the day.

To help with social distancing, Marietta’s kindergarten through fifth-grade students will have their meals brought to them in their classrooms, the superintendent said.

Sixth- through eighth-grade students will pick up their meals in the cafeteria and return to class where they will eat. For Marietta High School, Rivera said the system is working to set up a second cafeteria to serve as a place where students can get their meals while social distancing.

Rivera said the employees will work through the end of the first semester.

He said he’s grateful for the grant because it allows the system to hire people without affecting its budget. He said the school system is giving back to the community by helping people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

“It’s the perfect scenario to keep people working, keep food on the table and for us to focus on safety and allow our children to be safe,” he said.